The Effect of Video Education on Inhaler Use Technique

The Effect of Video Education on Improving Inhaler Use Technique

The investigators looked at the effect that video instruction located at www.useinhalers.com would have on improving inhaler technique at a hospital in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The investigators compared this video instruction to written Spanish inhaler education. The investigators video taped participants before and after the intervention, and graded their technique on a pre-defined rubric.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinically-stable outpatient adults (≥18 years) with Asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) with history of at least one exacerbation in last 1 year
• Clinical diagnoses of asthma or COPD

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with language barrier (unable to understand and communicate in either English or Spanish)
• Cognitive or physical dysfunction that, in the investigator's opinion, would interfere with completion of the study
• Significant co-morbidity that can confound asthma symptoms - e.g. Congestive Heart Failure, current smoker, uncontrolled Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, neuromuscular disease, chest wall deformity