A new approach for patient education: beyond constructivism.

Over the last ten years, research developed in science education, especially at the University of Geneva, has demonstrated that education must be centered on interactions between the learner's conceptions and a systemic educational environment. Transposed to a medical knowledge, this new model, originally conceived by the authors and called the 'allosteric learning model', offers new ways of considering patient education. After criticizing the 'grand theories' of learning, mainly the latest ones called constructivist models, the authors suggest a new set of micromodels designed to explain thoroughly the functioning of the patient's thought process (questions, frame of references, semantic network,.

Effect of patient education on self-management skills and health status in patients with asthma: a randomized trial.

We conducted a randomized clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of a newly established education program for adults with asthma. The program was designed to improve patients' health and functional status. Hospitalized patients with asthma were randomly assigned to immediate education or a 6-month waiting list.