Asthma education: Where do we stand today and where do we want to be tomorrow?

The asthma training program modeled according to the guidelines of the working group for asthma education for children and adolescents (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Asthmaschulung im Kindes-und Jugendalter e. V. (AGAS)) was evaluated in a controlled study in the 1990s. Multicentric application studies have also confirmed efficacy along with international meta-analyzes. As a result, asthma education in Germany is an integral part of the care of asthmatic children and adolescents and has been firmly integrated into the national care guidelines for asthma. Since 2006, uncomplicated refinancing exists due to the Disease Management Programs Asthma/COPD. A network for asthma training programs exists almost nationwide across Germany. The content of these trainings needs to be updated regularly and be adapted to meet the needs and expectations of the children, adolescents, and parents. These changes are reflected in updates of the quality management manual of the AGAS, which is not only the basis for the implementation of asthma education for children and adolescents in Germany but is also a contract component of the agreements with the health insurance funds. Workshops on the content and methods of asthma training were held during the annual conferences in recent years. The results of these workshops will now be integrated in an update of the Quality Management handbook.