Development of Barrows Cards in enhancing self-management in Pediatric patient with Cystic Fibrosis

Abstract

Background: Self-management is fundamental to help patients increase their therapy management at home safely, contributing to reduce readmissions and costs. For patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), there is a critical issue in nutrition and intake of enzymes and vitamins. Several studies used the Barrows’ Cards method to improve preventive behaviours in patients with chronic health conditions.

Aims: This study aims to develop an educational tool, based on the Barrows Cards Method, to improve nutrition self-management and intake of pancreatic enzymes and vitamins at home in child and teenager patient with CF.

Methodology: The development process consisted in: 1) literature analysis to identify critical issues in therapeutic education; 2) sharing with a panel of experts of the first two new decks draft; 3) analysis of the validity of the cards (content, face, and pictures); 4) assessment of tool usability. We involved patients and healthcare professionals in CF’s Italian Regional Hospital from March to November 2018.

Results: The educational tool consists of two decks, each one consisted of 15 Barrows Cards. One for CF patients aged 7-12 years, the other for CF patients aged 13-18 years. The patients involved (5 children and 7 teenagers) reported that the new cards were easy to understand and use, and no offensive or ambiguous terms were found. Moreover, they proposed to change some medical terms. The contents and pictures were found to be suitable for the specific population.

Conclusion: These two new decks of cards represent a handy and easy tool to improve self-management in CF patients. However, more studies are required to generalize its effectiveness.