EVALUTION OF AWARENESS OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE RESPIRATORY DISEASE IN THE POPULATION ADDICTED TO CIGARETTE

Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), one of the leading cause of the world-wide mortality and morbidity, is a crucial disease. Although it takes a long time, the lack of awereness of COPD causes a delay for applying to a doctor. This situation is one of the most important factors hindering the therapy. Therefore, in this study, it is aimed to investigate awareness of COPD knowledge, smoking-COPD relationships, the causes of COPD, the therapy methods and the knowledge sources. Methods: This study was carried out in the city of Ankara, the region of Mamak. The population including the 100 people, over 40 years old, addicted to cigarette were included. The data was analyzed by using SPSS 20 package programme. Results: It was detected that only 34% of the population recognized the term “COPD” as a “pulmonary disease”. Otherwise, %62 of them chose “cigarette and alcohol” as the answer to the causes of COPD. “Being treated (%37)”, “quiting smoking (%29)” and “use medicine (%17) ” were chosen as the answers of prevention methods. Conclusion: It was detected that the knowledge about COPD in the population was low. But the knowledge about the factors playing an important role in the development of COPD was in midlevel. It is a crucial fact that well knowing about the risk factors causing COPD is a significant issue for providing the awareness. We think the epidemiological studies would contribute to develop an international policy for an effective fighting against COPD