Does activity held on World Asthma Day have an impact on the asthma knowledge and awareness of family physicians?

Objective: Annually, certain activities are performed on World Asthma Day (WAD) for the awareness of both patients and physicians about asthma. The aim of the study was to observe the effects of asthma education on the skills and knowledge of family physicians on World Asthma Day, which basically includes updated information of the international asthma guideline.
Methods: Our quasi-experimental study, started on 3rd of May 2016, WAD. Education was provided by GINA (Global Initiative for Asthma), 2016. A questionnaire including 25 questions was applied for family physicians prior to and six months after the education.
Results: In the investigation of 32 family physicians, 62.5% of whom were women, 32.6±26.0 months in family physician practice. 59.4% of family physicians had received education about asthma in their post graduate period. 25% of the participants were using asthma guidelines in their daily practice. In pre- and post-education, the percentage of accuracy in the tests was 58.4% - 77.6 % among specialists and 62.3%-75.9% among trainees of family physicians. The percentage of accuracy developed in the questions of focusing asthma treatment and correct inhaler medication use after the education program were 62.5% - 93.8%; p=0.002, 56.2% -90.6%; p=0.007, respectively.
Conclusions: Our study revealed that family physicians did not have a tendency to use guidelines for asthma diagnosis and treatment. With the aid of the education program, their attitude changed positively. As an activity of WAD, we believe that education should also be focused on family physicians.