Abstract
Purpose: The elusive goal of asthma management guidelines is to achieve and maintain good asthma control in asthmatic patients. Against a background of long-term respiratory limitations when living with asthma, stigma and low self-esteem have also been identified as the social phenomenon among adult asthmatics. This study aimed to assess the levels of self-stigma, self-esteem, and asthma control, and to investigate the impact of self-stigma and self-esteem as psychosocial factors on asthma control in Malaysian adults living with asthma.Materials and Methods: In this multicenter cross-sectional study, post-ethics approval and patients' consents, 152 stable asthmatic patients (aged > 18 years old; nil cognitive disability; not diagnosed with other respiratory diseases) were recruited from four respiratory clinics in Selangor, Malaysia. The patients' socio-demographic, medical, and psychosocial (self-stigma and self-esteem) data were recorded in a pre-validated, self-designed questionnaire. All data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially (independent t-test/one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression) using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS®).Results: The enrolled patients showed moderate levels of self-stigma (62.12 ± 6.44) and self-esteem (29.31 ± 3.29), and not well-controlled asthma (17.58 ± 3.99). The number of patients' visits to emergency rooms because of asthma [CI (−1.199, 0.317), p < 0.001] was the significant predictor to asthma control among all selected study variables from socio-demographic and medical data. Moreover, from psychosocial factors both self-stigma [CI (−0.367, 0.190), p < 0.001], and self-esteem [CI (−0.007, 0.033), p = 0.041] found to be the significant predictors of asthma control.Conclusion: The preliminary evidences presented in this study found that frequent emergency room visits, high self-stigma and low self-esteem in asthma patients becomes more apparent with poor asthma control. Educational interventions to reduce patients' self-stigma and improve self-esteem are needed to achieve optimal control of asthma.
Highlights
High prevalence and poor control of asthma make asthma management a major public health issue worldwide (1)
This study aimed to evaluate the level of self-stigma, self-esteem and asthma control in adult asthma patients and investigate the impact self-stigma and self-esteem as psychosocial factors on asthma control in Malaysian adults living with asthma
This study protocol was approved by the Postgraduate Academic and Ethics Committee (600-FF-(PT-9/19)) and ethics approval was obtained from the Institutional Research Ethics Committee (IREC) (600-RMI-(5/1/16)) and Medical Research and Ethics Committee (MREC), Ministry of Health (MOH), Malaysia, through the National Medical Research Registry (NMRR-14-55720184)
Summary
High prevalence and poor control of asthma make asthma management a major public health issue worldwide (1). Self-stigma and self-esteem of asthmatic patients may influence the asthma control either directly or indirectly. The possible negative consequences because of self-stigma of asthma can be explained in terms of decreased self-efficacy in the management of asthma as well as the barriers it places on patients’ access to healthcare and social relationships. These unfortunate implications may lead to the increased morbidity and a reduced quality of life of the asthmatics (7). Self-esteem can influence the quality of life, physical and mental wellbeing of the patients living with chronic diseases including asthma (9)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
