The Effect of Teaching the Use of Inhaler to a Family Caregiver on its CorrectUse By the Elderly Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Due to the high rate of inhalers’ incorrect use by the elderly, this study aimsto evaluate the effect of teaching the use of inhalers to a family caregiver on its correct use by the elderlypatients.

This is a parallel-group randomized clinical trial on 80 older people with a lungdisease aged >60 years who use the inhaler incorrectly and their family caregivers. Participants were randomlyassigned to group A (education) and group B (control) using a block randomization method (4×4blocks). In group A, teaching of the correct use of inhaler was provided to the caregivers of the elderlyorally and practically in one session, while in group B, training was provided only to the elderly. Threeweeks later, the two groups were evaluated using a researcher-made inhaler use checklist.

There was no significant difference in the use of inhaler before and after the intervention ingroup A (2.58±1.26) and B (2.55±1.22) (P<0.05). Pearson correlation test results showed a significantdecrease in the correct use of inhaler with the increase of patients’ age (r=-0.24).

Further studies on the use of family members in elderly patients care, various educationalprograms by health care providers, and periodic evaluation of the performance of the elderly regardingthe use of inhalers are recommended.