What do health care professionals know about childhood asthma?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the level of knowledge about childhood asthma in paediatric nurses, pharmacists and general practitioners to assess their potential value as sources of accurate information for patients with asthma. The main outcome measure was the score obtained on an asthma knowledge questionnaire which had been validated previously. The maximum possible score was 31. Eighty‐three general practitioners had a mean score of 28.1 (range 14–31); 82 pharmacists scored a mean of 24.2 (range 15–30) and 30 paediatric nurses had a mean score of 25.5 (range 16–30). General practitioners scored well in most questions but had some worrying deficiencies, particularly in distinguishi..