Abstract:

Objective To investigate the disease recognition with popularization of knowledge of asthma in patients with asthma in Shanghai. Methods Five hundred and thirty patients with asthma treated in 18 hospitals of 12 districts in Shanghai in 2008 were surveyed with questionnaires, which were concerned with knowledge of asthma inflammation property, asthma diagnosis and monitoring and asthma treatment. The results of survey were compared with findings from 198 patients with asthma treated in the same districts in Shanghai in 2004 surveyed with the same questionnaires. Results A total of 519 effective questionnaires were recovered, with the recovery rate of 97.9%.The percent of patients in 2008 who realized that the chronic inflammation of asthma was not caused by bacterial infection and antibiotics were not needed in the treatment of asthma  was significantly lower than that in 2004 (48.5% vs 64.1%, P<0.05), and the situations were same for those treated either in secondary or tertiary hospitals (P<0.05).  The percent of patients in 2008 who recognized that lung function test should be included in the diagnosis of asthma was significantly higher than that in 2004 (71.4% vs 56.1%, P<0.05), and the situations were same for those treated either in secondary or tertiary hospitals (P<0.05). The percents of patients in 2008 who used peak flow meter for asthma monitoring and who were for routine follow up were significantly higher than those in 2004 (39.5% vs 22.2%, P<0.05; 84.2% vs 62.2%, P<0.05). The majority of patients had a good understanding of drug types and ways of drug delivery in treatment of asthma both in 2008 and 2004. There was no significant difference in the percent of patients who mastered procedures of metered dose inhaling between 2008 and 2004(27.6% vs 24.8%, P>0.05). Conclusion Asthma education has improved disease recognition in patients with asthma in Shanghai in recent years. However, there is still much room for improvement for patients treated in secondary hospitals.

Key words: asthma, disease recognition, questionnaire, Shanghai