Health care Providers’ Knowledge and Adherence to the National Guidelines for Management of Paediatric Asthma in Najran Region, Saudi Arabia

Objective: Introduction: Saudi initiative for asthma provides an updated framework for the diagnosis and management of asthma based on the best global scientific information. However, the prevalence of childhood asthma in Saudi has dramatically increased from 5% to 25% in the last decade. Objectives: To obtain information from health care providers (HCPs) regarding their knowledge, attitudes and use of the national guidelines for diagnosis and management of the childhood asthma. Methods: The study consisted of mixed surveys [semi-structured interviews (phase 1) and online survey (phase 2)] of the HCPs (paediatric doctors, pharmacists and nurses) whom work at hospital and primary care centres in Najran region, Saudi Arabia. The surveys assessed the knowledge and adherence of the HCPs to the national care pathway. Results: The paediatric doctor’s interviews afforded that the main barriers to adherence to guidelines are the lack of awareness and resources. In the online surveys, of the 535 HCPs, 172 surveys were completed. Of these, 48% of the respondents reported being aware to children asthma guidelines. 42% of the respondents did not follow any paediatric asthma guidelines. More than half of respondents (51.7%) follow guidelines for the paediatric asthma diagnosis. The most common barrier for adherence to asthma guidelines were lack of awareness (40%), followed by patient non-compliance with clinical management plan, lack of resources, difficult to understand the guidelines and the lack of time (32%), (16%), (7%) and (4%), respectively. Vast majority of respondents (75%) didn’t attend any training courses regarding awareness with asthma diagnosis and management. The study also revealed that dust mites and air pollution are the most popular asthma triggers (38%). 43% of respondents strongly agreed that a Saudi gene may be responsible for asthma. Most of the participants are not familiar with the number of children were admitted to Hospitals in the last twelve months. Conclusions: The results support that HCPs need education regarding diagnosis and clinical management plans of asthma by attending courses and workshops. Establishment of an asthma care centre may improve awareness and identify in depth the effective pathways for rapid asthma diagnosis.

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