<p>Childhood Asthma Awareness in Saudi Arabia: Five-Year Follow-Up Study</p>

Abstract

Background: Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease that is characterized by reversible airway obstruction due to bronchial hyperresponsiveness. It is one of the most common chronic diseases. In Saudi Arabia, asthma affects 2 million people with asthma frequency in children markedly higher than adults with regional variations ranging from 9% to 33.7%. Objective: The aim of this study is to measure asthma awareness and knowledge of study participants during the ongoing annual Saudi asthma awareness campaigns and compare them with previous survey data conducted in 2014. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the form of a survey distributed across three major cities in Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam, during the National Asthma Awareness Campaign in major regional shopping centers in April 2019. Asthma knowledge scores across different demographic groups were generated from surveyed data. Descriptive and correlative statistical analyses were performed to identify factors associated with changes in asthma knowledge. Scores were compared to previous survey results. Results: The mean score for asthma knowledge was 15.6 out of 25. Asthma knowledge significantly correlated with age (P=0.002), asthma status of the participants (P=0.001), having children with asthma (P=0.005) or knowing friends or family with asthma (P=0.029) but not with other socioeconomic factors such as gender, marital status, occupation, level of education and number of children in the family (P > 0.05). There was a significant difference in the asthma scores from 2014 (M= 63%, SD=26) to 2019 (M= 70%, SD= 26) conditions; t (24) = −2.106, p=0.046. Conclusion: Further educational campaigns are necessary to enhance and measure general public awareness of asthma, its differential diagnosis against other respiratory infections, environmental triggers, risk factors as well as treatment options.

Incorrect use for Inhalation Techniques of Inhaled Medication among Children with Asthma in Qassim Region: Prevalence and its Risk

“…When compared to previous studies we found that the knowledge about using inhaler technique has risen in our study compared with other studies [7,20]. Also the information public about from where to get information has increased, in the study conducted in Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dammam, during the National Asthma Awareness Campaign in April 2019 [21], only 22% of the participants get their information from their doctor wherein our study 139 (77.2%) of the participants tend to get their information from their primary doctor, and this indicates a better awareness and better treatment outcomes, as well as this, will assure that the patients will comply to medication and deliver the drug in the most effective way and technique.…”

The level of awareness regarding bronchial asthma among Riyadh population

“…Figure (1) illustrates that none of the males were low, 32(54.2%) were moderate, 27(45.8%) were high, 2(1.7%) of females were low, 36(31%) were moderate, 78(67.2%) were high, 2(1.1%) of the total were low, 68(38.9%) were moderate, 105(60%) were high, and there is a statistical relation between the level of awareness among males and females regarding complications of bronchial asthma.…”

Asthma as a social problem requiring systemic solutions in Poland

“…Such considerable differences in the results of epidemiological studies are most likely due to the complex definition of the disease and the difficulties in its diagnosis [ 1 , 4 ]. In China there are 45.7 million people (4.2%) affected with asthma, whereas in Saudi Arabia the number of asthma patients is approximately 2 million, which is 6% of the country’s general population [ 8 , 9 ]. In our study, which evaluated a population of 18,617 people, asthma was diagnosed in 2,508 (13.4%) people, including 1,272 (12.7%) women and 1,236 (14.4%) men.…”