Review of Literature:
An Asthma action plan is defined as written or electronic record agreed between an individual patient (or their parent/carer) and their health professional(s) providing personalised guidance on what actions to take when their asthma symptoms or peak flow deteriorates.(13, 14) They have been found to an effective part of asthma self management in children and adults (7,8)
Aspects of AAPs considered to be important for its use include essential information, readability, suitability and usability from a consumer’s perspective. (11)
Essential Information :
AAPs are available in many different forms, hence it is important to determine the essential information that make it an effective tool for asthma management. The most important …show more content…
Reminders of warning signs and potential precipitating factors or personal triggers (11; 17) were the other features of the content of AAPs that have been studied. Previous studies suggest that symptom based AAP are preferred by families over Peak flow based. (11; 17);
Other important characteristics that optimise usability of AAPs is the use of illustrations and colour coding (‘Traffic Light’ zones( 17) and clear language (11,12,17).Lastly, it is important for the plan to be dated and physician contact information and signature included (11).
Readability and Suitability:
Readability and Suitability, play an important role in determining the effective use of written information material.(19; 20, 21, 22, ). Grade level readability is one of the many factors that contribute to the overall readability of materials. Suitability improves the comprehension by detailed attention to organisation, layout/topography, design, content literacy demand, learning stimulation and cultural …show more content…
(23) Literacy levels in Tasmania are among some of the poorest in the country. (23) Recommendations for the level at which health education material should be written vary from grade 6 (Tasmanian health) to grade 8 (South Australia Health 2013). In the United States of America the current recommendation is to aim for grade 5 and under (24) Department of Health and Human Services Tasmania suggest health information be aimed at Grade 6 or lower.
Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAMS) is a tool developed by Doak, Doak & Root (1992) designed to rate materials for health education across the areas of • Content, Literacy Demand, Graphics, Layout and Type, Learning Stimulation & Motivation and Cultural Appropriateness. The tool has been validated and is widely used in evaluation of health literature.
Although readability and suitability have been assessed for a range of health education materials, there has been limited analysis in the context of AAPs.( 11,25 ,26) We, therefore conducted a systematic examination of the readability and suitability of
An Asthma action plan is defined as written or electronic record agreed between an individual patient (or their parent/carer) and their health professional(s) providing personalised guidance on what actions to take when their asthma symptoms or peak flow deteriorates.(13, 14) They have been found to an effective part of asthma self management in children and adults (7,8)
Aspects of AAPs considered to be important for its use include essential information, readability, suitability and usability from a consumer’s perspective. (11)
Essential Information :
AAPs are available in many different forms, hence it is important to determine the essential information that make it an effective tool for asthma management. The most important …show more content…
Reminders of warning signs and potential precipitating factors or personal triggers (11; 17) were the other features of the content of AAPs that have been studied. Previous studies suggest that symptom based AAP are preferred by families over Peak flow based. (11; 17);
Other important characteristics that optimise usability of AAPs is the use of illustrations and colour coding (‘Traffic Light’ zones( 17) and clear language (11,12,17).Lastly, it is important for the plan to be dated and physician contact information and signature included (11).
Readability and Suitability:
Readability and Suitability, play an important role in determining the effective use of written information material.(19; 20, 21, 22, ). Grade level readability is one of the many factors that contribute to the overall readability of materials. Suitability improves the comprehension by detailed attention to organisation, layout/topography, design, content literacy demand, learning stimulation and cultural …show more content…
(23) Literacy levels in Tasmania are among some of the poorest in the country. (23) Recommendations for the level at which health education material should be written vary from grade 6 (Tasmanian health) to grade 8 (South Australia Health 2013). In the United States of America the current recommendation is to aim for grade 5 and under (24) Department of Health and Human Services Tasmania suggest health information be aimed at Grade 6 or lower.
Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAMS) is a tool developed by Doak, Doak & Root (1992) designed to rate materials for health education across the areas of • Content, Literacy Demand, Graphics, Layout and Type, Learning Stimulation & Motivation and Cultural Appropriateness. The tool has been validated and is widely used in evaluation of health literature.
Although readability and suitability have been assessed for a range of health education materials, there has been limited analysis in the context of AAPs.( 11,25 ,26) We, therefore conducted a systematic examination of the readability and suitability of