| Sumario: | Background: Creating a strong patient-provider partnership is vital for effective management of asthma. To accomplish this goal, respiratory care (RC) students need to learn how to identifY patients' diverse asthroa belie& and treatment strategies. lbis study tested whether an experiential learning module could improve RC students' belie& aix>ut using a partnership approach and identifY complementary therapies used by patients with asthma. Methods: Respiratory care students interviewed 2 people with asthroa to determine their belie& about asthroa and its treatment using a serni-structured interview rorm. Measurements pre-and post-module were made with the Leeds Attitude to Concordance scale (lATCon II) which measures practitioners' views about involving patients as equal partners in medical decision-making. The scale responses are measured on a 4-point Likert scale, yielding a maximum score of60. Results: A total of 15 of the 21 RC students completed both pre and post module versions ofthe IATCon IT scale. Scores ranged from 19-51. The pre-module score (M = 40.73, SO 1.96) and post-module score (M =44.67, SO =1.28) demonsttatedachange in partnership attitudes; the Sign Test was statistically significance at ex = 0.05 (Z = -5.295, p < 0.001). Students identified several complementary asthroa therapies. In addition to routine asthma medications, interviewees (n = 32) used (frequency in parentheses) vitamins (27%), herbal remedies (21.6%), no complementary approaches (21.6%), exercise or yoga and eat healthy (21.6%), acupuncture (5.4%), and 2.7% tried a complementary therapy but stopped because it did not work Conclusions: A variety ofcomplementary approaches are practiced in a diverse urban commWliIy. Future health professionals need to understand the diverse belie& about asthma and how it should be treated. Use of an experiential learning module is an effective way to help RC students discover and appreciate these differences and value a shared decision-making role.
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