title: [Educational diagnosis in asthma. Descriptive results of a questionnaire survey].
abstract: The object of this work was to carry out an audit on an asthmatic's knowledge of their disease and of the risk factors, their usual therapy and of therapy for acute exacerbations as well as their need for information and education. The study was carried out by a survey of 327 adult asthmatics who were in consultation with specialist physicians in thoracic medicine. The information was gathered using an anonymous questionnaire completed by a nurse. The doctors looking after these patients had given their opinion on the severity of their asthma and the educational needs of their patients. The population studied had an average of 47 +/- 17 years. Forty seven per cent of the subjects were masculine. The general level of education was high. Seventy five per cent of the patients were from an urban environment. The duration of the asthma was on an average of 19 years. Half of these patients had already been in hospital for a serious attack. One third of the patients were considered by their doctors as having severe asthma. The patients were good at distinguishing the level of severity of their acute exacerbations and adapted their therapy on their own initiative in appropriate fashion based on the degree of severity of their disease. The enquiry revealed that patients take some liberties around the basic treatment that they had been prescribed. It also showed some defects or errors in their knowledge of the disease and the appropriate approach vis-à-vis the disease. One noted for example that one third of the asthmatics had already stopped the treatment before the date fixed by their doctor. In a general, patients who were surveyed were interested in their health problems with their health and hoped to be better informed both on asthma and its treatment. This study was biased towards an interest in the understanding of the education in order to manage the asthmatic population better.
authors.affiliation: CTAR, Paris.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pujet
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nejjari
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Tessier
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sapene
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pasquet
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Racineux
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015982:Bias; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011788:Quality of Life; D012648:Self Care / Q000592:standards*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires