Effect of the Orem Self-care Model on Quality of Life in Adolescents with Asthma

Asthma is one of the chronic diseases that could affect quality of life (QOL). Therefore, one of the goals of healthcare interventions for this disease is improving the QOL. The current study aimed at determining the effect of the Orem self-care model on QOL in adolescents with asthma.
The current prospective study assigned 64 adolescents with asthma referring to Shariati Hospital into 2 groups of control and intervention by the simple random sampling method. Then, the Orem-based training was implemented through 8 sessions of 2 hours and the asthma QOL questionnaire was presented to both groups prior to and 2 months after completion of the training. The data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical statistics consisting of the paired and independent t tests with SPSS version 20.
There was a significant change in the mean score of different QOL dimensions before and after the training in the intervention group by respiratory status (P = 0.001), mood functioning (P = 0.03), social functioning (P = 0.005), physical activity (P = 0.006), and general understanding of health (P = 0.004), but there was no significant difference in the mean score of different QOL dimensions before and after the training in the control group (P > 0.05).
Based on the contribution of the Orem self-care model to increase QOL in the adolescents with asthma, it seems better to use this model as a healthcare intervention to improve asthma control and patient adherence.