Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) on Asthma among Thai Adults: A Case Study in Ratchaburi Province, Thailand

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to explain the demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices of preventive behaviors of Thai adults with asthma at Ratchaburi province, Thailand, and to identify the relationship among these variables. It was a cross-sectional study with 441 samples who were aged over 18 years old.  Data collection was between February to March 2011. Descriptive statistics was employed (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation) and Chi-square Test was used to find the relationship among demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices of preventive behaviors regarding asthma. The results showed that 55.1% of the subjects were females and 44.9% were males, majority of the respondents (79.6%) were aged between 18-59 years old. More than half (54.0%) were married, and 53.1% were in the range from 3 and 4 persons in the family. Most of subjects (68.3%) had secondary school or higher education. In terms of occupation, 31.3% of the subjects were agricultural workers. Forty two percent of the subjects had an income less than 10,000 baht per month, while 54.8% had a monthly expenditure less than 10,000 baht. Most subjects (68.8%) had been suffering for asthma mostly between 2-9 years. The result also found that 78.9% of the subjects were non-smokers. Among the total samples, 90.0% did not have a check on peak expiratory flow (PEF) to control asthma symptoms. Regarding level of KAP, 20.9% of the subjects had high level of knowledge of asthma, 68.5% had low level of attitudes, and 32.4% had high level of practice. There was an association between knowledge and attitude (p<0.001), knowledge and practice (p<0.001), and attitudes and practices (p<0.001). The result of the study can be used as a baseline data for further studies to prevent asthma symptoms among Thai adults.