An Asthma Awareness Index about symptoms, treatment, Emergency management and prevention in Karachi: A developing country perspective with low socio-economic condition
Imran Ahmed Khan University of Karachi
Abstract:
Asthma patient’s individual characteristics and associated physical environment impact on asthma attacks and difficult days. It is also includes its awareness about asthma as a disease, its symptoms, normal and emergency treatment and prevention from asthma triggers. This study discuss the gaps in knowledge and societal attitude towards asthma in Karachi Pakistan in recent days. A stratified random sampling method was used to obtain asthma prevalence and other respiratory diseases in the city. An Asthma Awareness Index (AAI) was developed and used to define participants with asthma, to identify likely asthmatics that were not aware that they might have this diagnosis, and to estimate exposure to number of potential asthma triggers. Almost 30 % of the respondent were having at least one repertory disease including TB, asthma, COPD, Allergic rhinitis, Bronchitis and Lung cancer. Almost 8% of asthma patients are appeared, most of them do not know about their triggers so that asthma awareness towards prevention was very low. Patients with good literacy and better socio-economic conditions are slightly higher at awareness index level. A comprehensive survey and detail results could be used for asthma refinement and planning for respiratory diseases and health care system.
