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Welcome to the JCHS Adult Asthma Self-Management website!
The purpose of this website is to provide information regarding the current adult asthma self-management study that is being offered by JCHS.
This research study is being funded by a Research Acceleration Program Grant from Carilion Clinic.
If you are interested in participating in this free research study or have questions about the research study, please email Dr. Tousman at stousman@jchs.edu or call him at (540) 767-6096.
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Click on a link below to learn more:
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is this research study for me?
If you are an adult with asthma and you seek to learn more about your chronic disease and want to make behavioral changes to improve your chronic disease, then the answer is “yes.”
- Who will be teaching me?
The main teachers for this research study will be faculty from Jefferson College of Health Sciences. The research study was designed by Stuart Tousman, who is an Associate Professor of Health Psychology and has had asthma for more than 40 years. Our other faculty will include nurses, physician assistants, occupational therapists, and respiratory therapists. Special guests will include allergists, pulmonologists, and nurse practitioners from Carilion and local private practices.
- Will the research study cost me anything?
No, the program is free. All participants will receive a free peak flow meter and educational materials.
- What will I learn in the research study?
You will learn about the allergy and asthma medications and how to better manage your asthma. You will learn how exercise, relaxation, and drinking water are related to asthma. The basis for the program is to teach you information that will allow you to make better decisions for managing your asthma and improving your quality of life. This will allow you to improve your self-management.
- Is this research study designed to increase or decrease my asthma medications?
No, this program is educational. We will teach you what the medications do and how they work. Many people find this very beneficial since there are so many medications for allergy and asthma. This information we share is based on national asthma guidelines. If you wish to change your medications during the program we recommend that you contact your health care professional.
- What can I expect when I am done with the program?
For the last 7 years the research study has been run in Illinois. At the end of the program, subjects knew a lot more information about asthma, how to better manage asthma, and their quality of life was improved. Most felt much more comfortable when they went back to the doctor’s office and discussed their asthma with their health care professional.
- How long is the program?
If you decide to enroll in the free research study you will attend a two hour meeting once a week for 8 weeks. There may be 5-10 other adults with asthma in the class as well. Once the 8 weeks are over you will be asked to return 3 more times during the next 6 months.
- Two hours for 8 weeks is a long time; will I become bored?
In the past our subjects have not become bored because the teachers will not be providing long complicated lectures during the course. Each session will be based on interactive learner centered topics. Interactive means that everyone will talk and share experiences. We are very informal and there is often a lot of humor associated with the weekly meetings and story telling. Learner centered means that the job of the teachers will be to answer your questions. In the past, most of our subjects really enjoyed the small group format and getting to know others with asthma.
- Can I read more about the program?
Yes, Dr. Tousman has published multiple articles on this program. Click here for specific abstracts regarding his program. If you would like the whole article email Dr. Tousman.
- If I am interested in the program what should I do next?
In order to enroll in the free program you need to chat with Dr. Tousman to see if it will work out for you. You can email Dr. Tousman with questions or thoughts you have and if you are interested in enrolling. Please provide him with your phone number so he can chat with you on the phone. Once that occurs then you will get your specific starting date and you will be all set.
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Dr. Stuart Tousman's Personal History
Who is Dr. Stuart Tousman and how did he come up with this program?
Dr. Tousman grew up with severe asthma in New Jersey during the 1960’s and 1970’s. During his childhood, he was on many asthma medications, missed a lot of school and had a difficult time adjusting to life with asthma. Fortunately, during his teen years, his asthma got better. Tousman's father used to take bike rides and go on hikes with him. Before long, he had turned into quite the athlete. By 12th grade, he was taking bike rides of 100 miles and more.
In college, at Ohio State, Tousman chose to focus on the exciting field of psychology. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology at Ohio State in 1985 and then earned his master's and doctorate in psychology in 1992 from SUNY-Binghamton in upstate NY.
In 1991, Tousman was hired to teach psychology at Rockford College, a small liberal arts college in Northern Illinois. Until 1998, he had no professional involvement in the field of asthma. But in that year, Tousman decided that he wanted to do some asthma education research and developed the core program that is still run today.
Tousman also decided that he wanted to become more professionally involved in asthma. He became personally involved with public health groups like the Rockford Asthma Consortium and eventually became the asthma partnership chair for the state of Illinois. He also joined medical organizations that focus on asthma, including the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the American Thoracic Society. Tousman has been regularly going to meetings for these groups for many years and has done lots of teaching and administrative work for them. For each of these groups Tousman worked hard to teach and be an administrator.
Dr. Tousman says, "Since I am a person with asthma, I feel as if I can offer something unique to these professional organizations."
Tousman was at Rockford College from 1991 to 2007 and he greatly enjoyed his experiences there. In 2007, Tousman wanted to pursue his line of asthma research even more and was very pleased to move his wife and daughter to Roanoke, Virginia, where he joined the newly formed Health Psychology Department at Jefferson College of Health Sciences.
Health Psychology is a research field in which individuals study behavioral changes in chronic diseases. The opportunity to teach in this field was very exciting to Tousman.
He says, "The opportunity to expand my asthma work in a major healthcare system like Carilion Clinic and help more people is very exciting to me."
Tousman is a member of the Greater Roanoke Valley Asthma and Air Quality Coalition and the Virginia Asthma Coalition.
Tousman added, "My family and I love southwest Virginia and I look forward to the opportunity to help people in this region with their asthma."
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Research Abstracts
Development, implementation and evaluation of a new adult asthma self-management program.
Department of Health Psychology, Jefferson College of Health Sciences, Roanoke, VA 24031, USA. stousman@jchs.edu
The purpose of the research was to develop, implement, and evaluate a new adult asthma self-management program with a multidisciplinary perspective. Small groups of adults met for 2 hr for 7 consecutive weekly meetings. Participants were asked to practice asthma specific behaviors (including peak expiratory flow monitoring, avoidance/removal of asthma triggers, and controller medication adherence) and general lifestyle behaviors (including drinking water, practicing relaxation, washing hands, and exercising). Learner-centered teaching techniques such as interactive communication and social support were utilized to help participants practice self-management behaviors including problem-solving and goal-setting. Paired sample t-tests included statistically significant improvements in asthma knowledge, asthma specific quality of life (QOL), asthma specific behaviors such as peak flow monitoring and general life style behaviors such as frequency of daily exercise. These results provide evidence that this new adult asthma self-management program can lead to both knowledge acquisition and behavioral changes.
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A pilot study on a cognitive-behavioral asthma self-management program for adults.
Department of Psychology, Rockford College, Rockford, Illinois, USA. stousman@aol.com
The purpose of our research was to design, implement and evaluate a cognitive-behavioral asthma self-management program for adults. Seventeen adults with asthma completed an eight-week course (two hours, once a week) that consisted of interactive small group discussions and a behavior change procedure. The group discussions were led by a multi-disciplinary faculty (nurse, respiratory therapist, allergist, social worker, psychologist). Following each weekly discussion, participants would attempt to change a behavior related to the discussion. At the following meeting, participants would share their results and get feedback from the group; subsequently a new topic was introduced for discussion and a new behavioral change goal was added at the end of the meeting. Primary outcome measurements included asthma related quality of life, peak flow rate and frequency of key lifestyle behaviors. Outcome analyses indicated statistically significant improvements in frequency of: 1) peak flow monitoring; 2) practicing relaxation; 3) drinking 64 ounces of water a day (P < 0.05). Outcome analyses also indicated statistically significant improvements in quality-of-life (QOL) and asthma knowledge (P < 0.05). These results provide evidence that a cognitive-behavioral asthma education program that incorporates a behavior change procedure with interactive group discussions can lead to both knowledge acquisition and behavioral changes. Such outcomes are essential for reducing asthma morbidity and asthma mortality.
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