Unpacking Asthma: What Nsukka Students Know (and Don’t Know!)

Hey there! So, let’s talk about asthma. It’s one of those health conditions that seems to pop up everywhere, affecting folks of all ages and walks of life. You might know someone who has it, or maybe you’ve seen people using inhalers. It’s a big deal, especially for young people.

We recently got our hands on a study that took a good, hard look at what secondary school students in Nsukka City, down in Enugu State, Nigeria, knew and thought about asthma back in 2021. Honestly, I was curious to see what the findings would be. There hadn’t been a ton of research focusing specifically on adolescents in this area, and let’s be real, these are the years when kids are navigating a lot, including their health.

Why Does This Even Matter?

Think about it: students spend a huge chunk of their day at school. That environment can have all sorts of things floating around – allergens, dust, maybe even mold – that can trigger asthma symptoms. If a student has asthma, dealing with it at school is crucial. Poorly managed asthma can mean missing classes, struggling academically, ending up in the emergency room, or even feeling isolated from friends.

Plus, adolescents are in that tricky phase between being kids and becoming adults. Their friends influence them, they’re figuring things out, and sometimes health stuff takes a backseat. If they don’t really understand asthma, or if they have weird ideas about it, it can lead to things like:

• Not using their inhaler correctly.
• Skipping their medication.
• Not getting help from doctors when they need it.
• Not even knowing they *have* asthma in the first place!

All of this means asthma doesn’t get controlled as well as it should. Education is a massive piece of the puzzle when it comes to managing asthma. The more you know, the better choices you can make.

Diving Into the Study

So, how did we figure out what these students knew? The researchers did what’s called a cross-sectional study. They went to ten secondary schools in Nsukka – five private and five government-owned – and chatted with the senior students (that’s SS1 to SS3). They picked students from different academic streams: Humanities, Sciences, and Business.

They used a questionnaire that had been used before in a similar study. It asked about a few things:

• Basic stuff like age and what class they were in.
• If they’d ever heard of asthma and where they got their info.
• Specific questions to test their knowledge about asthma (like what causes it, how it’s treated).
• Questions to understand their perception or beliefs about asthma (like if it’s contagious, or if it’s a spiritual problem – yikes!).

They handed out questionnaires to 2000 students and got back 1880 right away (to stop anyone from secretly Googling the answers!). After sorting through them, they ended up with 1840 valid ones to analyze. That’s a pretty solid number!

The students were mostly around 16 years old, with a good mix of ages from 11 to 20. More girls participated than boys, and a big chunk of them were in the science stream.

What We Discovered: Awareness is High, But Knowledge and Perception Lag

Okay, here’s the headline: Most students had heard of asthma. Like, a huge 85.5%! That’s great awareness.

But here’s where it gets a bit concerning: 51.3% of them had poor knowledge about asthma, and 54.6% had poor perceptions about it. So, while they knew it existed, over half didn’t really understand the ins and outs or had some questionable beliefs.

Where did they get their information? The most common source was health professionals (44.2%). That’s good! But guess who was second? School teachers. This finding is a bit different from other studies where parents or friends were the main source. It also hints that maybe asthma isn’t a regular part of the school curriculum, even though teachers are a key point of contact.

On the knowledge front, most students (89.9%) knew that an inhaler is used for asthma management. And a big majority (82.2%) correctly said asthma isn’t contagious. They also mostly knew exercise could trigger asthma (79.1%). So, they had some key facts right.

Perceptions: Some Surprising Beliefs

This is where things got really interesting. When asked about their perceptions:

• A staggering 64.2% *strongly agreed* that asthma is a spiritual problem. Wow. That’s a major misconception that needs addressing.
• Many also *strongly agreed* that asthma only affects children (63.0%). Nope, it affects adults too!
• About one-third (32.6%) thought school authorities *should* know which students have asthma. This seems low, right? You’d think more would agree the school needs to be in the loop for safety.
• Over one-third (around 38%) agreed that it’s embarrassing to use an inhaler in class. This points to potential self-stigma, which can stop kids from getting the help they need during an attack.
• On a positive note, over one-third believed that students with well-managed asthma *can* participate in sports. This is true and important for overall health!

Who Knows More?

The study found that certain things were linked to better knowledge and perception:

• Age: Older students (16-20 years) tended to have better knowledge than younger ones (11-15 years).
• Class: Students in higher classes (SS2 and SS3) generally had better knowledge and perception than those in SS1. Makes sense, they’ve had more time in school and maybe more exposure.

Interestingly, the study also found a positive correlation between knowledge and perception. Basically, the more a student knew about asthma, the better their perception of it tended to be. This highlights how knowledge can help chip away at those misconceptions.

When they looked at factors influencing knowledge, they found age, class, gender, having a diagnosis of asthma, and having family members with asthma all played a role. For perception, age, class, and having a diagnosis were influential.

Here’s a bit of a head-scratcher though: while having a diagnosis or a family history *influenced* knowledge, the study found that knowledge didn’t necessarily improve significantly *just* because a student had asthma or a family member with it. This is a key finding! It means even those directly affected might not have all the right information.

So, What’s the Takeaway?

The big picture is this: Awareness of asthma is high among these Nsukka students, which is a great starting point. But a significant number – over half – still lack accurate knowledge and hold onto potentially harmful misconceptions, like believing asthma is a spiritual problem or only affects kids.

The fact that age and class are linked to better understanding suggests that general schooling helps, but it’s not enough. Relying mostly on healthcare professionals for information is good, but teachers are right there in the school every day and could be doing more.

The finding that students with asthma or a family history don’t automatically have better knowledge is a wake-up call. These are the very students who need the most accurate information!

Moving Forward: Education is Key

This study really drives home the need for better asthma education in schools. It shouldn’t just be left to chance or brief chats with a doctor. Including asthma in the secondary school curriculum could help clear up those misconceptions and ensure students get reliable information.

Plus, teachers need to be equipped! If they’re a key source of information, they need proper training on asthma management and how to support students with chronic conditions. They need to know it’s okay for students to use their inhalers and that well-managed asthma doesn’t have to stop kids from being active.

And let’s not forget those students who are diagnosed or have family members with asthma. They might need extra, targeted support and education to make sure they truly understand their condition and how to manage it effectively.

Of course, like any study, this one had its limitations. It relied on students telling the truth in a questionnaire, and maybe some had read up on asthma beforehand. But even with that, it gives us a really valuable snapshot of the situation on the ground in Nsukka.

Ultimately, improving asthma knowledge and perception among secondary school students is vital for their health and well-being. It’s about empowering them with the right information so they can live full, active lives, even with asthma.

Source: Springer