English abstract
Objectives: Bronchial asthma is a common and life threatening
problem affecting school children and adolescents. The flareup of asthma may lead to impaired daily function and absence
from school. These complications of bronchial asthma could be
influenced by poor knowledge, poor use of inhaler technique,
non-compliance and negative attitude toward the illness and
drugs. The study is designed to assess the asthma knowledge of
school students suffering form asthma and identify the resources
of the knowledge.
Methods: All diagnosed asthma students (131 cases) selected
from school health register grade 7-12 was included in this study.
The self administrated questionnaire was distributed among
them. It was designed to collect information of the students about
epidemiology of asthma, source of their information and effect of
the disease on their school attendance. Special knowledge score
was constructed to measure the level of the students' knowledge.
Results: The study showed that from 131 diagnosed asthma cases
90% (118) aware about their diagnosis. Medical and paramedical
personnel were found to be the source of knowledge for 49.4%
(65) of the students, while teachers were mentioned by only 9.2%
(12) of the students as their source of information. Regarding
the effect of asthma on school absenteeism, 66% (87) of school
students may miss their school due asthma attack.
Conclusion: Health education about bronchial asthma is a need
for school students. This require inter-disciplinary approach
from various organization particularly the schools. It is vital
that school teachers' knowledge be improved and continuously
updated that it can reflect in students' knowledge and attitudes
too.
