Knowledge, attitude and practices of PHC physicians in Aseer region regarding management of acute asthma

Hassan Ahmed Assiri; Yahia Matter Alkhaldi; Safar Abadi Alsaleem; Hassan Mohammad Alqarni

doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1418_20

Knowledge, attitude and practices of PHC physicians in Aseer region regarding management of acute asthma

J Family Med Prim Care. 2021 May;10(5):1882-1889. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1418_20. Epub 2021 May 31.

Authors

Hassan Ahmed Assiri¹, Yahia Matter Alkhaldi², Safar Abadi Alsaleem³, Hassan Mohammad Alqarni¹

Affiliations

¹ Abha Health Sector , General Directorate of Health Affairs ,Aseer Region, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Research and Studies, GDHA, Aseer Region, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Family and Community Medicine, KKU, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to explore knowledge, attitude and practices of physicians working at primary health care (PHC) in Abha, KSA, regarding assessment and management of acute bronchial asthma.

Subjects and methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted among PHC physicians in Abha, Khamis Mushayt and Ahad Rufeida cities, Aseer region KSA in 2018. A questionnaire that was constructed by the investigators was used to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of PHC physicians regarding the diagnosis and management of patients with acute asthma. The questionnaire was distributed under the supervision of the first investigator. Data management was carried out using SPSS version 23.

Results: A total of 200 PHC physicians participated in this study. About two-thirds of them (63.5%) had good grade of knowledge regarding acute asthma management, whereas 44% had positive attitude toward acute asthma management. The main knowledge gaps were doses of drugs used in the management of acute severe asthma attack (36%), and diagnosis of acute severe asthma attack (51.5%). Physicians' main source of knowledge on asthma included textbooks (26%) and guidelines (61.5%). Physicians' practice grades were significantly higher among those with less experience in PHC (p = 0.011). Almost all PHC centers (PHCC) (98%) had oxygen and nebulizers, 72.5% had steroids, 71.5% had salbutamol, 50.5% had ipratropium and 41% had peak flow meter, whereas 73.5% had the Saudi Initiative for Asthma (SINA) guidelines.

Conclusion: This study revealed that knowledge of PHC physicians regarding the management of bronchial asthma was suboptimal, their attitude is not completely positive, and their adherence to asthma management guidelines is quite low. Some PHCCs were lacking important drugs and equipment for management acute asthma that should be provided. Well-structured training of PHCC doctors on SINA is mandatory to upgrade their knowledge, promote their attitude and improve their skills.

Keywords: Acute asthma; Aseer region; Saudi Arabia; attitude and practice; knowledge; primary health care.