Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Asthma Knowledge And Perceptions Of Older Australian Adults: Implications For Social Marketing Campaigns, Uwana Evers, Sandra C. Jones, Peter Caputi, Donald C. Iverson

Sandra Jones

Objective: The purpose of this research is to gain an understanding of the asthma perceptions of older adults and identify gaps in their asthma knowledge. Methods: In regional New South Wales, Australia, a stratified, random sample of 4066 adults, aged 55 years and over, both with and without an asthma diagnosis, completed a survey based on the Health Belief Model about asthma knowledge and perceptions. Results: Almost half of the sample had experienced symptoms of breathlessness in the past four weeks. Breathlessness was a predictor of lower health ratings and poorer mood. Older adults reported low susceptibility to developing asthma. …