Long Term Efficacy of Education Programme on Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorders associated with excessive daytime sleepiness and cardiovascular disease. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is an effective standard treatment and is widely prescribed for patients with OSA. Successful CPAP treatment has also been shown to improve cognitive, cardiovascular and metabolic function. Sustainable CPAP treatment would alleviate the substantial cost burden of health-related consequences of untreated OSA. However, the use of CPAP for such patients is disappointingly low and limits the effectiveness of treatment. Early CPAP education and follow up have shown to be very important in helping subjects to handle side-effects or problems associated with the use of CPAP. Good education program at the initial phase of using CPAP is essentially affected the acceptance and adherence of CPAP therapy. Good CPAP adherence is not only medically essential to patients\' health but also economically importance to society by alleviating the substantial cost burden of health-related consequences. To the best of our knowledge, there is no randomized clinical trial (RCT) to prove the long-term efficacy of extended education program on improving continuous positive airway pressure use and its treatment outcomes. The primary purpose of this study is to assess the long-term efficacy of our on-going RCT which is an extended education program on improving CPAP compliance. The investigators hypothesize that the application of both MI technique and SCT-based extended education program at the initial phase of using CPAP also would enhance CPAP adherence even after one year of attending education class.