The Effect of Home-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation on Asthmatic Pediatric Quality of Life

Abstract

Background: Children with asthma have a low quality of life because they cannot adequately be physically active. Asthmatic children can benefit from home-based pulmonary rehabilitation because it is available, inexpensive, and easy to use. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effect of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation on the quality of life of children with asthma. Methods: This experimental study was conducted in 2022 on 60 asthmatic children in Gorgan, Iran, with two intervention and control groups by convenient method. Children in the intervention group received eight pulmonary rehabilitation sessions at home after randomly assigning the participants to two intervention (30-person) and control (30-person) groups. The data collection tools included a demographic characteristic form and a pediatric quality of life questionnaire (PedsQl). Results: The mean quality of life before the intervention was 54.6 ± 7.13 in the intervention and 53.76 ± 7.12 in the control group, and the independent t-test did not show a significant difference between the two groups. The mean quality of life after the intervention increased to 59.9 ± 7.69 in the intervention and 55.3 ± 7.36 in the control group, and the independent t-test showed a significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.01). Conclusions: Based on the results, home-based pulmonary rehabilitation effectively improved the asthmatic pediatric quality of life. Therefore, the healthcare system should consider home-based pulmonary rehabilitation as part of the treatment protocol.