Ensuring patient compliance with airway clearance can be difficult.  Determining the appropriate device and/or technique for each patient does not have to be an elusive process.

There are many Airway Clearance techniques and devices.  It's no surprise, then, that health care workers can get overwhelmed.  Determining the appropriate therapy is loosely defined.  Still, we should customize our recommendations to each patient. 

As we all know, compliance of ACT's are only effective if it is easy and convenient for the patient.  Therefore, the crucial question is which therapy will my patient actually do? 

Here are three tips to improve compliance:

     1. Develop a questionnaire to determine which devices/techniques they will be compliant with
     2. Make education simple and engaging
     3. Follow up in a subsequent meeting.  Ask the patient to demonstrate or explain their airway clearance      regimen

If you're tempted to prescribe or teach all airway clearance devices or techniques, think twice.  Information overload can be counterproductive.  After all, compliance is the goal.

Angela Romero, BSN, RRT
Chicago, IL

RespiratoryEdge.com