Asthma severity,perception and self-care practices among asthma patients in Rwanda.

Abstract

Background of the study: Asthma affects more than 358 million people worldwide. Although the mortality rate is not increasing in high income countries, asthma continues to be problematic in low-income countries. It is a health threatening condition and affects many people, especially in Sub Saharan countries where Rwanda is located. Unfortunately, paucity of reports on this condition about patient’s perception, asthma severity, and patient self-care for better patient outcome is evident in Rwanda. Aim of the study: To assess the association between asthma severity, perception and selfcare practices among asthma patients in Rwanda. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was used in this study. This study was conducted at selected District Hospital and Health Centers among patients with asthma who visited these health facilities during the study period. Eighty participants (80) were recruited and included in this study using total population sampling strategy and the data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed with SPSS version 22 by descriptive and inferential statistics. A letter for ethical clearance was guaranteed by the IRB/UR/CMHS. Before data collection, the researcher explained the nature of the study to the participants and the participation was voluntary. The consent was signed and the questionnaires didn’t bear the patient name, the data will be used only for the purpose of this research. Results: This study found that most of the participant had mild persistent asthma with 65%, followed with mild moderate 15%, intermittent 7.5% and persistent severe with 6.3 %. 72.5% of the participants had moderate perception with asthma. In addition to that, it was found that many participants (56.3%) had a moderate self-care practices while 33.8% had good self-care practices. Statistical analysis has found a statistically significant association between asthma severity and self-care practices (p.value= 0.046,) and correlation analysis revealed a negative correlation between asthma severity and self-care practices (r=-0.165). However, there was no statistical significant association between asthma severity and perception (p.value=0.749). Conclusion: There is an association between asthma severity and self-care practices. Avoiding pollen exposure could potentially reduce asthma exacerbation. However, the habit of drinking alcohol can exacerbate this chronic disease.