Treatment adherence among asthma patients attending a hospital of Ahmedabad.

Background: The success of treatment in asthma requires long term commitment, adherence and a good self-management. Objectives: To study attitude and behavior related to adherence to medication by patients of asthma in a tertiary care institute and to assess their treatment seeking behavior. Study Settings: Tertiary care institute, Chest Medicine department, Design: Hospital based study. Materials and Methods: All the diagnosed asthma patients (N=100) were enrolled in the defined study period. Structured interviews were done of the diagnosed asthma patients using a predesigned questionnaire. The questions were related to the attitude and behavior towards medications, treatment seeking behavior of the patients and their adherence to treatment. Results: The study shows that out of 100 respondents, sixty (60%) of the respondents had experienced the symptoms for more than 6 weeks before going to hospital. About half (49%) had learned the use of inhaler from their doctor. Sixty-one (61%) had rated their asthma as “well controlled”. The commonest reason (n=79) for missing dose was “symptoms were relived & it was not necessary to continue treatment”. Conclusion: It could be seen that patient-side delays proved important determinant for treatment of Asthma. The commonest reason for missing dose was temporary relief of symptoms