Assessment of knowledge on self-management and level of asthma control among patients attending a tertiary care center in Nepal: A cross-sectional study

Asthma is a major public health challenge globally and is characterized by recurrent attacks of breathlessness and wheezing that vary in severity and frequency from person to person. With a notable burden in Nepal, where prevalence ranges from 4.2% to 8.9%, effective asthma management requires both updated pharmacological treatments and robust self-management practices, which involve monitoring symptoms and preventing exacerbations. In settings like Nepal, where asthma prevalence and resource limitations are concerns, enhancing patient education and behavioral interventions is crucial for better disease control. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted to find the relationship between asthma control levels and asthma self-management at a tertiary care center from 25th May 2024 to 15th November 2024 in Nepal. The convenience sampling method was used. To evaluate differences in asthma self-management knowledge, a non-parametric statistical test was applied to the scores from the Asthma Self-Management Knowledge Questionnaire (ASMQ), which were categorized by independent variables. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. A total of 145 patients had participated in our study. The mean (SD) transformed ASMQ score was 26.22 (13.32). Based on ACT scores, asthma control levels were classified as uncontrolled (40%), partially controlled (54.5%), and controlled (5%). The Kruskal-Wallis H test revealed a statistically significant difference in ASMQ scores across education levels (p = 0.047), occupation (p = 0.015) and subgroups of the asthma control test (p = 0.011). Post hoc analysis using the Dunn-Bonferroni test indicated a statistically significant difference in ASMQ scores between individuals with uncontrolled asthma and partially controlled asthma. The findings of our study suggest that asthma self-management knowledge is suboptimal and correlates with asthma control levels, emphasizing the critical importance of effective patient education and assessment in achieving optimal disease management.