Asthma patients' knowledge, perception, and adherence to the asthma guidelines

Asthma patients' knowledge and perceptions about asthma management regimens have been shown to correlate with the quality of their asthma management and outcomes. This study addresses adult ambulatory asthma patients' knowledge and perception of the asthma management guidelines issued by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. We interviewed 76 patients at three adult medicine outpatient clinics. Of 37 patients who knew about peak flow monitoring, 21 found it to be useful, only 10 were using it regularly, and 7 had a notation about it in their chart. Eight patients knew about patient self-assessment forms, 6 found them useful, 3 had used one recently, and only 1 patient had one in the chart. Six patients knew about asthma action plans, 4 of them thought that these plans were useful, but only 1 patient was actively using it. This study demonstrates major gaps in the asthma patients knowledge, perceptions, and their adherence to recommendations and also with the documentation in the medical record.