Asthma is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in the United States (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2003). According to the CDC (2003), prevalence of asthma continues to rise in epidemic proportions and is very costly. While asthma cannot be prevented or cured, it can be controlled to improve quality of life. Self-management is key to controlling asthma (CDC, 2003; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [NHLBI], 2002).

State of the science for asthma self-management establishes that health care costs decrease for self-management intervention groups (Lindberg et al., 2002; Thoonen et al., 2003). Education is essential to support asthma self-management, but state of the science does not indicate the type of education intervention or how intense an education intervention should be. Education literature supports meeting learner needs as an essential component for successful adult learning.

The purpose of this study is to examine and compare the effects of two asthma self-management programs on adult asthma control, the individually tailored and the standardized. It is a comparative, pretest-posttest design to examine and compare the effects of the standardized education (n = 44) and the individually tailored education (n = 44) on asthma control. The education curriculum for both groups is based on National Asthma Education Prevention Program guidelines. The individually tailored education utilizes an andragogical framework. The Asthma Control Test (ACT) and Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) readings were utilized as pre and post-test measures (American Lung Association, 2002). An independent t-test, chi-square, and repeated measure general linear model technique were utilized to compare groups. There was a significant difference in ACT scores between pre and post-test, regardless of asthma teaching methods, as indicated by multivariate tests of within subject effects (F = 4.43, p = .038). There was a statistically significant decrease in mean number episodes of shortness of breath (F = 6.22, p = .015) regardless of asthma teaching methods. The current study supports a standardized and an individually tailored education program as being effective in improving asthma control and decreasing episodes of shortness of breath and supports a growing need for nurses to become involved in adult asthma education.