A study of knowledge assessment and competence in asthma and inhaler technique of nurses employed at university teaching hospital

Background: Current effective treatments available for asthma are mainly the inhalers. Nurses play a vital role in imparting correct knowledge of asthma care and teaching inhaler techniques to patients. The aims of the study were to, a) determine the knowledge of nurses regarding asthma and its management and b) evaluate the competence of nurses to use inhalers.Methods: A simple random sample of registered nurses was taken from the medical surgical units of the hospital. Data was collected by using pre and post test asthma questionnaire and a nine step inhaler skill checklist.Results: The pre-test data shows 40-50% of RNs lacked the knowledge of causes, sign and symptoms and the management of asthma. More than 30% were not able to demonstrate the correct inhaler technique of MDIs. Evaluation after several teaching sessions shows 80-90% improvement in the knowledge and competence of nurses to use inhalers.Conclusion: Continuous training programs and workshops are needed to improve the knowledge of nurses about asthma, their competence to use inhalers and to demonstrate to patients.