Factors associated with knowledge of self-management of worsening asthma in primary care patients: a cross-sectional study

Figures & data

Figure 1. Flowchart illustrating data collection. PHCC = primary health care center.

Table 1. Patient characteristics.

Patient/clinic characteristics	Total n (%)	Moderate/complete knowledge n (%)	Little/no knowledge n (%)	p value
Female sex	859 (61)	569 (63)	290 (58)	0.053
Age <40	387 (28)	243 (27)	144 (29)	0.354
Age 40–59	573 (41)	362 (40)	211 (42)
Age ≥60	445 (32)	298 (33)	147 (29)
Low level of education	928 (67)	573 (64)	355 (71)	0.009
Current daily smoking	86 (6)	44 (5)	42 (8)	0.009
Co-morbidity, ≥1	1008 (72)	639 (71)	369 (73)	0.274
Self-rated moderate/severe disease	554 (44)	370 (44)	184 (44)	0.854
Written action plan	244 (17)	234 (26)	10 (2)	<0.0001
Patient-specific physician	901 (65)	382 (43)	95 (19)	<0.0001
Visit to asthma/COPD-nurse	269 (19)	207 (23)	62 (12)	<0.0001
Asthma/COPD clinic at PHCC	1233 (88)	793 (88)	440 (88)	0.926
Certified asthma/COPD clinic at PHCC	169 (11)	103 (11)	57 (11)	0.977
Step I (no maintenance treatment)	317 (23)	145 (16)	172 (35)	<0.0001
Step II (ICS only)	347 (25)	223 (25)	124 (25)
Step III (ICS with LABA or LTRA)	719 (52)	520 (59)	199 (40)

Patient and clinic characteristics with respect to knowledge of management of asthma exacerbations.

COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; PHCC = primary health care center; ICS = inhaled corticosteroids; LABA = long-acting beta agonists; LTRA = leukotriene receptor antagonists.

Table 2. Logistic regression associations between patient and care related factors and having sufficient knowledge of management of asthma exacerbations.

Patient characteristics	Unadjusted OR (95%CI)	p value	Adjusted OR (95% CI)	p value
Sex
Female	Ref	0.054	Ref	0.230
Male	1.25 (1.00–1.56)		1.18 (0.90–1.54)
Age groups
<40	Ref	0.903	Ref	0.462
40–59	1.02 (0.78–1.33)	0.208	0.88 (0.64–1.23)	0.646
≥60	1.20 (0.90–1.60)		0.92 (0.64–1.32)
Education
Low	Ref	0.010	Ref	0.032
High	1.37 (1.08–1.73)		1.38 (1.03–1.85)
Current smoking
No	Ref	0.010	Ref	0.031
Yes	0.56 (0.36–0.87)		0.56 (0.34–0.95)
Co-morbidity
No	Ref	0.274	Ref	0.015
Yes	0.87 (0.68–1.11)		0.68 (0.49–0.93)
Self-rated severity of disease
Moderate	Ref	0.854	Ref	0.008
Severe	0.98 (0.77–1.24)		0.68 (0.51–0.90)
Written action plan
No	Ref	<0.0001	Ref	<0.0001
Yes	17.2 (9.06–32.8)		11.9 (6.16–22.9)
Specific responsible doctor
No	Ref	<0.0001	Ref	<0.0001
Yes	3.18 (2.45–4.13)		2.19 (1.62–2.96)
Visited asthma/COPD-nurse
No	Ref	<0.0001	Ref	0.061
Yes	2.11 (1.55–2.87)		1.42 (0.98–2.04)
Asthma/COPD clinic at PHCC
No	Ref	0.926	Ref	0.454
Yes	0.98 (0.71–1.37)		1.16 (0.78–1.73)
Treatment status
Step I (No regular treatment)	Ref	<0.0001	Ref	0.031
Step II (ICS only)	2.13 (1.56–2.91)	<0.0001	1.53 (1.04–2.24)	<0.0001
Step III (ICS + LABA or LTRA)	3.10 (2.36–4.08)		2.07 (1.44–2.99)

The investigated variables were chosen a priori.

OR = odds ratio; COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; PHCC = primary health care center; ICS = inhaled corticosteroids; LABA = long-acting beta agonists; LTRA = leukotriene receptor antagonists.

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