Preface

In the past three decades there has been a major sea change in the way healthcare is taught and implemented. Teaching in the healthcare professions have been replaced from a "this is what you do" approach to "this is the scientific basis" ethos of evidence-based material. The healthcare professional is now more educated, more informed and more aware that the foundation of good health is good science. Healthcare practitioners with research doctorates or Masters degrees are also more commonplace. As a consequence, practice and procedures are continually changing with a corresponding improvement in healthcare. Concomitantly, the demand for comprehensive and focused evidenced-based text and scientific literature covering single areas of healthcare or treatments have also increased. Hitherto, these have been difficult to obtain and thus it was decided to work on a collection of books on The Scientific Basis of Healthcare. The chapters impart holistic information on the scientific basis of health and covers the latest knowledge, trends and treatments. The ability to transcend the intellectual divide is aided by the fact that each chapter has:

• An Abstract
• A section called "Practice and Procedures" where relevant
• Key Facts (areas of focus explained for the lay person)
• Definitions of words and terms
• Summary points

The books, each on a different medical condition, cover a wide number of areas. The chapters are written by national or international experts and specialists.

In Asthma we cover a wide range of areas and subtopics including overviews and introductory text, quality of care, prostaglandins and other mediators of inflammation, unsatisfactory asthma control, rthinosinusitis, psychological distress, adherence to guidelines inhalation techniques in asthma, nurse-led home visits, therapy in elderly patients, pediatric asthma and many more scientific fields associated with Asthma.

The books are designed for practicing health care workers, trained nurses, nursing students, doctors and medical students, therapists, trainees and practitioners of all health-related disciplines including physiotherapists, midwives, dietitians, psychologists, and so on. The special feature of the book also means it is suitable for post graduates, special project students, teachers, lecturers and professors. It is also suitable for college, university, nursing, and medical school libraries as a reference guide.