Asthma education: a necessity for primary health care professionals

Clinical Research Results Abstract Research Idea Abstract Service Development & Evaluation Abstract Aim: Educate primary care (PC) professionals for proper management of asthma, in accordance with national and international guidelines.Outline of context: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in Brazil. It’s still often underdiagnosed and undertreated, creating a substantial problem for individuals and their families. In part, this problem is related to the lack of knowledge of PC professionals about the disease.Description of intervention: Multidisciplinary educational program on proper asthma management for PC professionals (physicians, nurses, pharmacists and professionals from the support center for family health teams - NASF) from three municipalities in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil, carried out in November 2021. A questionnaire was applied before the program to assess training needs in respiratory diseases and self-perception of knowledge for the management of asthma. The teaching methods included videos, lectures and discussion of real-life clinical cases in small groups. 81 professionals participated in the training and answered the questionnaire - 32% physicians, 26% nurses, 23% pharmacists and 19% NASF professionals. Eight percent of the professionals reported that they assist patients with respiratory symptoms all the time and 29.3% most of the time. Only 11.3% reported in-service training focused on respiratory diseases in the past three years. The level of confidence in treating respiratory diseases is show in table 1. Figure 1 shows the frequency of Short-Acting Beta Agonists (SABAs) and inhaled corticosteroids (IC).Lesions learned: PC professionals feel unprepared to treat chronic respiratory diseases (CRD). Regular training can increase the level of knowledge of these professionals and thus promote better management of asthma in PC setting.Message for others: PC professionals need more educational moments to improve the management of CRD, including asthma, to acquire a better level of safety in their clinical practice. Declaration of Interest Declaration of Interest: This research was supported by AstraZeneca -Brazil. References and Clinical Trial Registry Information