Study finds asthma gaps

By ANGELA GREGORY

Too many asthma sufferers do not recognise that prevention is better than cure, researchers have found.

A study commissioned by the Government drug-funding agency, Pharmac, found the majority of people interviewed did not realise that asthma was a serious disease.

The research, conducted by Wellington company State of Mind, showed people also thought they only had asthma when they experienced its symptoms.

State of Mind spokeswoman Sarah Hodgetts said they then usually relied on reliever medicine such as Ventolin rather than using preventer inhalers such as Flixotide, Respocort or Beclazone to protect themselves from getting symptoms.

This poor understanding of what asthma was and apathy towards the treatments available were the biggest barriers to people controlling their asthma, she said.

The researchers looked at 10 health providers and the behaviour of 52 people with asthma in Auckland and Wellington.

They identified three distinct groups:

* Those who were knowledgeable about the condition and careful in their management of it.

* Those who knew they had asthma but had a low understanding of the condition or what treatments did.

* Those who either didn't know they had asthma or ignored it, seeking treatment only in emergencies.

Sara Hodgetts said the last group of people usually had a poor medical knowledge of asthma and did not acknowledge that it was a serious condition.

They considered attacks to be uncontrollable and did not know that their symptoms were preventable.



Many asthmatics regarded the condition in the same way they did a common cold - as something over which they had no control and little way of preventing.

"They often have preventer inhalers prescribed to them but are not good at using them and don't understand it is the preventer inhalers that can help avoid the onset of asthma symptoms, like a dry cough or wheeziness."

Combined with this was a high level of dependence on health professionals to magically fix their problem, rather than accepting responsibility for managing it themselves.

This had serious health implications for New Zealand, as asthma affected about half a million people.

Its incidence was higher among Maori and Pacific Island people than among Pakeha.

However, Sarah Hodgetts said that even though many people were not controlling their asthma, they did believe that their quality of life would be better without their asthma symptoms.

By talking to their health professional about their asthma and by adopting a self-management plan, people with asthma could begin to enjoy a life without the hindrance of asthma symptoms.

Herald feature: Health