This BPG is primarily for nurses who provide direct care to persons with asthma across the spectrum of care and is designed to improve the quality of care and health outcomes.
This BPG is primarily for nurses who provide direct care to persons with asthma across the spectrum of care and is designed to improve the quality of care and health outcomes.
As an introduction, we’ve provided summaries of the practice recommendations from the BPG document — but we strongly encourage downloading RNAO’s official PDF.
At initial encounter, identify adults with an asthma diagnosis by reviewing the health record for an established asthma diagnosis, supported by the use of objective lung function measurements, and by asking two questions:
At every encounter, assess the person’s current level of asthma control according to the following criteria:
* Indicates important objective information for a complete assessment of asthma control, but may not be available.
‡ Performed and interpreted within health-care-provider scope of practice (including appropriate knowledge and skills) and in alignment with organizational policies and procedures.
For adults with uncontrolled asthma, determine whether the person is currently experiencing an asthma exacerbation and, if so, the severity and need for urgent medical attention.
At every encounter, assess the person’s risk of future asthma exacerbations according to the following criteria:
At every encounter, identify factors affecting the complexity of asthma management for the person, including age, sex, smoking habits, social determinants of health, triggers, and comorbidities.
Develop an individualized, person-centred asthma education plan that addresses the following:
Provide asthma education as an essential component of care.
Educate the person on the essential skills and self-management of asthma based on the person’s learning needs, including:
Evaluate non-pharmacological interventions for effectiveness and for potential interactions with pharmacological interventions.
At every encounter, actively educate on correct inhaler device technique through observation, feedback, physical demonstration, and written instructions.
Engage the person with asthma in shared decision-making with regard to the selection of an inhaler device.
Educate the person with asthma on the difference between controller and reliever medications, their indications, and their potential side effects.
Where appropriate, assist and educate persons with asthma to measure their peak expiratory flow.
To support self-management, collaborate with the person with asthma to develop and review a documented asthma action plan, in one or a combination of the following formats:
Provide integrated asthma self-management support to adults with uncontrolled asthma who are at risk for severe exacerbations through multiple modalities/formats, such as:
Refer and connect persons with asthma to a:
At every encounter, evaluate the effectiveness of the overall plan of care in achieving asthma control.
This website was developed by a team of researchers at the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at Toronto Metropolitan University (Formerly Ryerson University). The purpose of the site is to provide supplementary resources for implementing RNAO’s Best Practice Guidelines. Some information about the best practice guidelines has been collected directly from the RNAO BPG website. We have done our best to ensure accuracy, however some discrepancies may occur. For official, up-to-date information about the best practice guidelines, please refer to the RNAO website.
