Educational program for smoke-induced respiratory diseases in Brazilian Amazon: assessing knowledge about asthma

Economic and cultural considerations underlie the forest clearing by burning that occurs in the Brazilian Amazon region. The prevalence of respiratory diseases markedly increases during the annual burning season. As part of a nongovernmental initiative to reduce forest fires, health professionals received updated training about respiratory diseases aggravated by smoke. The aim of the present study was to describe and evaluate this educational program. A total of 1500 health care professionals received theoretical and practical guidance. Some of the involved community health agents (CHA) and nurse technicians completed a questionnaire that assessed knowledge about asthma before and after training. Asthma was recognized as an inflammatory disease by 274 of 743 (36%) CHA and nurse technicians on the initial questionnaire compared with 542 of 684 (80%) on the final questionnaire (p < 0.0001). The concept that asthma and allergic bronchitis are the same disease was initially acknowledged by 250 of 743 (33%) CHA and nurse technicians compared with 671 of 684 (90%) after the training (p < 0.0001). The usefulness of bronchodilators was identified by 442 of 743 (60%) CHA and nurse technicians before the training vs. 497 of 684 (73%) after the training (p < 0.0001). Training significantly influenced knowledge about asthma in the group studied. The impact of this program on health care remains unknown.