Limited Knowledge on Asthma and Pressurized Metered-Dose Inhaler Technique Among Health Care Professionals Attending Asthmatic Patients in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Introduction

Receiving wrong health education from health care professionals (HCPs) might contribute to patients' poor inhaler technique. We set out to investigate HCPs' knowledge on asthma and metered-dose inhaler technique in selected health facilities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study done from August 2020 to February 2021, participant's demographics were recorded. The inhaler technique was assessed using a 12-step checklist. Participants had correct inhaler technique when all the steps were performed correctly; otherwise, the technique was poor. An 18-question questionnaire for health care professional knowledge was used to assess asthma knowledge. One point was awarded to each correctly answered question, whereas a zero point was given to a wrongly answered or unanswered question. Knowledge was adequate if the score was 13/18 or higher. Chi-square was used to compare categorical data, while analysis of variance was used for comparison of mean scores for asthma knowledge and inhaler technique. A p value ≤0.05 was considered significant.

Results

A total of 114 participants were enrolled; 57% were medical officers, and 59.6% had work experience of <5 years. The majority (53.5%) had no training on inhaler technique, and 75% had inadequate knowledge on asthma. Good asthma knowledge was associated with age ≥40 years (p = 0.039) and being a medical specialist (p = 0.002). Only 4.4% of the participants did all the steps of inhaler technique correctly.

Conclusion

Knowledge on asthma and inhaler use technique is generally lacking among health care professionals. In-service training on asthma and inhaler demonstration should be considered for HCPs in asthma clinics.