Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, 11111, Sudan.
The Princess Royal Hospital, Grainger drive, Apley, Telford, TF1 6TF, UK.
Sci Rep. 2019 Aug 20;9(1):12120. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-48622-2.
Prevention of asthma attacks is one of the major challenges of public health. Sufficient knowledge and positive attitudes and correct practices are crucial for the prevention of exacerbations. However, there is insufficiency of information in regard to these in Sudan. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and to identify the attitude and practice of mothers of asthmatic children concerning their use of inhalers, compliance to preventers and to measure its effect on the severity of the disease in their children. A sample of 100 consecutive mothers of asthmatic children was enrolled. Any mother with a child diagnosed with bronchial asthma for more than 3 months, and who attended the outpatient clinic of paediatric asthma in Soba or Ahmed Gasim hospitals or the Emergency room of Ahmed Gasim or Ibrahim Malik hospital in the period from 1st to 31st of October 2016 was eligible to be included. Asthma was believed to be infectious by 7% of the respondents. 17% of the mothers thought asthma was preventable by a vaccine. 21% found inhaler use unacceptable. Half of the mothers (50%) did not use the inhaler correctly. Most of the mothers (69%) did not use the inhaler if symptoms were mild and 53% didn't use preventers. The severity of asthma was found to be significantly associated with the attitude and practice of mothers (P < 0.05). In conclusion, sustained efforts are required to increase knowledge about all dimensions of asthma and its management among patients and to disperse myths and misguided judgments regarding the disease and its treatment.
预防哮喘发作是公共卫生的主要挑战之一。充分的知识、积极的态度和正确的做法对于预防病情恶化至关重要。然而，苏丹在这方面的信息不足。本研究旨在评估母亲们对其使用吸入器的知识、态度和实践，以确定其对患儿疾病严重程度的影响。本研究纳入了 100 名连续就诊的哮喘患儿的母亲。任何一位孩子被诊断患有支气管哮喘超过 3 个月，且在 2016 年 10 月 1 日至 31 日期间在 Soba 或 Ahmed Gasim 医院的儿科哮喘门诊、Ahmed Gasim 或 Ibrahim Malik 医院的急诊室就诊的母亲，均有资格被纳入研究。有 7%的受访者认为哮喘具有传染性。17%的母亲认为哮喘可以通过疫苗预防。21%的母亲认为使用吸入器不可接受。有一半（50%）的母亲不能正确使用吸入器。大多数母亲（69%）在症状轻微时不使用吸入器，53%的母亲不使用预防药物。母亲们的态度和实践与哮喘的严重程度显著相关（P<0.05）。总之，需要持续努力提高患者对哮喘及其管理各个方面的认识，并消除对哮喘及其治疗的误解和错误判断。
