Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice of exercise for pulmonary rehabilitation among patients with pulmonary diseases

Knowledge of self-care management using exercise to improve pulmonary functions may help to reduce frequent hospitalization and mortality in patients with pulmonary diseases (PmDs). However, there is dearth of information on knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of exercise for pulmonary rehabilitation (ExPR) among patients with PmDs. Hence, this study investigated KAP on ExPR in patients with PmDs. This cross-sectional study involved 105 patients with PmDs (male: n=47, female: n=58) who were purposively recruited from Nigerian hospitals. Validated instruments on ExPR and socio-economic status (SES) were used to assess KAP of ExPR and SES among patients with PmDs, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Alpha level was set at p˂0.05. The mean age of respondents was 54.0±18.7 years with more than half, 56 (53.3%) reported low SES. More than a third, 36 (34.3%) of respondents had asthma. In addition, more than half, 54 (51.4%) scored above average knowledge of ExPR, less than half, 45(47.4%) reported negative attitude to ExPR. Similarly, more than half, 60 (57.1%) demonstrated poor ExPR practice. However, there was significant associations between knowledge and level of education (χ2 =13.687; P = 0.003), attitude and age (χ2 = 12.602; P = 0.039) and practice and SES (χ2 = 17.648; P = 0.002). In conclusion, patients with PmDs demonstrated good knowledge, negative attitude and poor practice of ExPR. Knowledge, attitude and practice of ExPR were significantly associated with socio-demographic and economic level among patients with PmDs.