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Awareness regarding childhood asthma in Saudi Arabia
Saleh Al-Harbi1, Adel S Al-Harbi2, Abdullah Al-Khorayyef2
1Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Consultant Pediatric Pulmonologist, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, KSA.
Insights
Saudi Arabian awareness of childhood bronchial asthma is insufficient. Public health initiatives are needed to improve understanding and management of this common respiratory condition.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Respiratory Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Bronchial asthma is a prevalent chronic respiratory disease in children.
- Understanding public knowledge is crucial for effective disease management and prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the level of knowledge and awareness regarding childhood bronchial asthma within the Saudi Arabian population.
- To identify factors influencing this knowledge.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study was conducted using structured questionnaires.
- Data was collected from 1039 Saudi Arabians across Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dammam in May 2014.
Main Results:
- A significant portion of the population recognized asthma's potential severity (67%) and key symptoms like dyspnea and nocturnal cough (86.1%).
- However, awareness regarding the distinction between asthma and allergies (13.2%) and the non-symptomatic nature of fever/runny nose (45.7%) was low.
- Knowledge correlated positively with age, education level, and marital status, and with knowing someone with asthma.
Conclusions:
- The study highlights insufficient knowledge about bronchial asthma among the Saudi population.
- Targeted educational campaigns are essential to enhance public understanding and promote effective asthma management.
Objective:
Assessing the knowledge and awareness of the Saudi society about bronchial asthma in children.
Methods:
Structured questionnaires were randomly distributed to 1039 Saudi Arabians in May 2014 at Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dammam.
Results:
The awareness of bronchial asthma questions showed that 67% of total sample thought that it could be a fatal disease, and only 13.2% thought that there is a difference between bronchial asthma and chest allergies in children. 86.1% thought that the symptoms of bronchial asthma include dyspnea and nocturnal cough, and 45.7% thought that fever, a runny nose and throat inflammation are not symptoms. 60.2% thought that infectious respiratory diseases may increase bronchial asthma progression. In addition, 40% thought that the use of antibiotics doesn't help in diminishing bronchial asthma complications, and some thought that the patient can stop medication after an acute asthma attack. 34.1% thought that inhaled medication for asthma doesn't cause addiction. Very highly significant results are shown between bronchial asthma knowledge and age, the level of education, marital status, and if the individual knows a person who suffers from bronchial asthma (P < 0.001). There are positive correlations between bronchial asthma knowledge and age, marital status, and level of education (r = 0.152, 0.150, 0.197), respectively.
Conclusion:
The study demonstrated that bronchial asthma knowledge in the Saudi Arabian population is insufficient, and efforts should be carried out to spread bronchial asthma management.
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