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A4864 - Targeted Inhaler Technique Education for Primarily Mandarin-Speaking Subjects: A Pilot Study
Author Block: G. Zhang1, H. G. Landau1, S. R. Kher2; 1Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States, 2TUFTS Med Ctr, Boston, MA, United States.
Rationale: Patients frequently have incorrect inhaler technique. Guidelines recommend health providers review their patients’ inhaler technique at every opportunity. However, few studies have looked at inhaler technique education specifically among non-English speaking patients (NSP). We implemented a pilot inhaler technique education intervention targeted for NSP with Mandarin as their primary spoken language.Methods: We enrolled 11 non-English speaking Mandarin-speaking subjects using inhalers for a comprehensive inhaler education intervention. The intervention included a video demonstration and a written handout reviewing correct inhaler technique. The video and the handout were both made available in Mandarin. In addition, the patient had the opportunity to discuss their inhaler use and ask questions with either a Mandarin-speaking research team member or with an English-speaking research team member (using hospital mandarin interpreter). A pre-intervention questionnaire was completed by the subject that assessed demographics, self-reported confidence of technique, disease control, and past inhaler education. A post-intervention survey was administered to obtain feedback about the intervention and to assess if and how the subjects planned to change their technique as a result of the intervention.Results: For the 11 subjects, mean age was 72.5 years, 5 (45%) were female and median length of inhaler use was 0.5 years (Range, 0-8.5 years). 2(18%) were college-educated and 9(82%) had education less than grade 12. 8(73%) subjects reported previously being taught inhaler technique. This teaching was reportedly done by physicians (45%), pharmacists (9%) and 18% were self- taught. Before the intervention, 8 (73%) subjects reported confidence in inhaler technique as either ‘very confident’ or ‘completely confident’ (4 and 5 on a 1-5 Likert scale). Of these 8 subjects who reported high confidence levels, 7 identified deficiencies in their own current inhaler technique after participating in the education intervention. These 7 subjects also reported that they would change their inhaler technique moving forward as a result of the intervention. The video demonstration was noted to be the most helpful aspect of the intervention, followed by printed Mandarin educational handouts.Conclusions: A comprehensive educational intervention targeted towards Mandarin speaking subjects helped identify deficiencies in the inhaler technique despite high levels of pre-intervention self-reported confidence in inhaler technique. Language-specific educational interventions have the potential to improve inhaler technique in non-English-speaking populations. Similar interventions might be beneficial for other language populations.