Understanding the public's perception and knowledge of asthma

The prevalence of asthma is increasing both in Vermont and nationally. Reducing exposure to triggers and risk factors, and use of prophylactic medication, can help control symptoms. As part of the curriculum at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, medical students work in partnership with community agencies to conduct public health projects during their second year. The goal of this project was to better understand Vermonters' knowledge and beliefs about asthma to better target future educational efforts. A 29 question survey, modeled after the Chicago Community Asthma Survey, was developed to understand public perception of asthma; the survey assessed knowledge of severity, triggers, prevention, treatment, incidence, mortality, morbidity, and impact on daily activities. 190 subjects in ambulatory health care settings responded. Separate analyses of perception and knowledge-based data were performed; significance testing used one-tailed t-tests. 88% of respondents were female and 75% had children. More than 35% of respondents incorrectly understood prevalence and natural course of asthma. For the perception items, individuals who scored highly considered themselves well-educated about asthma compared to low scorers (p=.02); results were similar for knowledge domain questions. Notably, correctness of an individual's response in either perception or knowledge items was not affected by whether or not they had asthma (p= 0.35), but did differ by level of education (p=0.03). Although many individuals in Vermont are affected by asthma, gaps in knowledge about asthma and its impact remain, and represent target areas for public education, specifically including individuals in Vermont with a diagnosis of asthma.