Assessment of Nurses' Knowledge and Self-Reported Beliefs Regarding Inhaler Therapy in Bronchial Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Self-Reported Beliefs Regarding Inhaler Therapy in Bronchial Asthma and COPD

Abstract

Bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are important diseases to treat with inhaled medications, but their effectiveness relies on proper device use. Objective: To evaluate nurses' knowledge and self-reported beliefs regarding inhalation therapy devices, metered dose inhalers (MDIs), spacers, and dry powder inhalers (DPIs) in two hospitals in Multan, Pakistan. Methods: The descriptive cross-sectional study was done with Consecutive sampling for six months. A total of 115 nurses were enrolled in the sample. Nurses were given a self-developed 20-item yes/no questionnaire with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.78 in the two hospitals: Medicare Hospital and Nishtar Hospital. Patients were excluded if they were nursing students or non-clinical staff, and registered nurses were included who had worked with patients for ≥1 year. Results: There was a significant lack of knowledge. As far as general knowledge was concerned, 58.3% of them thought inhalers are addictive, 43.5% believed inhalers to be a “last resort”, and more than 67% were misinformed about inhalers leading to weight gain and stunted growth. The critical technique errors were common: 61.7% thought patients should breathe in before pressing the MDI canister, and 16.5% did not know that MDIs should be shaken before use. Only 26.1% had good knowledge. The best predictor of adequate knowledge was prior training (p=0.002). Conclusions: The nurses were found to have poor knowledge of inhaler therapy. There is an urgent need for structured, device-specific training, along with supervised competency assessment, to address patient education and improve treatment outcomes.