Impact that an educational intervention carried out by community health agents has on environmental conditions in the households of children with asthma.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the impact that an educational intervention employing problem-solving strategies for the environmental control of aeroallergens has on environmental conditions in the households of children with asthma. The intervention was carried out by community health agents.

METHODS

This was a prospective intervention study. The community health agents visited 95 households in which there were children (2-10 years of age) who had recurrent episodes of wheezing and dyspnea. All of the households investigated were in the city of Iguatu, Brazil. The educational interventions involved focus groups and community health agents. The focus groups were asked to brainstorm the educational measures to be implemented, in order to devise problem-solving strategies. After the intervention, 84 households were revisited and reevaluated.

RESULTS

After the intervention, there was a significant decrease in the use of brooms for cleaning the floor (p = 0.02), in the use of coal-burning stoves (p = 0.001), and in the number of stuffed toys (p = 0.05). There was also a significant post-intervention improvement in the environmental control of aeroallergens in the bedrooms of the children (p = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

The educational intervention applied in this study proved to be an important tool for the target population, improving environmental conditions in the households of children with asthma.