ASTIMLI HASTALARIN YAÞADIKLARI GÜÇLÜKLER

Astým prevelansýnýn yüksek olmasý ve artýþ göstermesi, morbidite ve mortalitesinin yüksek olmasý, doðrudan ve dolaylý maliyetleri nedeniyle önemli bir ulusal saðlýk önceliðidir. Astým gibi kronik hastalýklarýn hastalarýn günlük yaþamlarý üzerinde büyük etkisi vardýr. Bu tanýmlayýcý çalýþmanýn amacý, Türkiye'nin güneyindeki astýmlý hastalarýn yaþadýðý güçlükleri saptamaktýr. Araþtýrmanýn örneklemini bir üniversitesi hastanesinde týbbi tedavi gören 105 astým hastasý oluþturmuþtur. Veriler demografik veri formu ve astým hastalarýnýn fiziksel, psikolojik, sosyal, ekonomik ve tedavi ile ilgili güçlüklerini içeren anket formu ile toplanmýþtýr. Verilerin analizi SPSS 20.0 kullanýlarak yapýlmýþtýr. Astým hastalarýnýn özelliklerini, deneyimlerini ve temel deðiþkenlere iliþkin yanýtlarýný tanýmlamak için tanýmlayýcý istatistikler kullanýlmýþtýr. Örnekleme alýnan astým hastalarýnýn yaþ ortalamasý 55.68 yýl olup, çoðu hasta kadýn (%61.9), evli (%77.1), ev hanýmý (%47.6) ve ilkokul mezunudur (%40). Astýmlý hastalarýn yaþadýklarý fiziksel güçlükler, nefes darlýðý (%85.7), hýrýltýlý solunum (%82.9), yorgunluk (%82.9), öksürük (%76.2), psikolojik güçlükler, üzüntü (%67.6), kaygý (%64.8), öfke (%59.0), sosyal güçlükler, kapalý / kalabalýk yerlere girememe (%65.7), yakýnlarýný / arkadaþlarýný ziyaret edememe (%47.6), ekonomik güçlükler, gelir kaybý (%36.2), pahalý ilaç masraflarýný ödeme güçlüðü (%30.5), tedavi ile ilgili güçlükler, astým ataðý hakkýnda yeterli bilgi alamama (%48.5), tedavisi hakkýnda yeterli bilgi alamama (%32.3) þeklindedir. Bu çalýþmadan elde edilen bilgiler, astýmlý hastalarýn fiziksel, psikolojik ve sosyal yönlerini geliþtirmek için hemþirelik bakýmýnýn bir bütün olarak ele alýnmasý ve saðlýk hizmetlerinin bu açýdan yeniden gözden geçirilmesi gerektiðini göstermektedir. Bu çalýþmanýn, daha büyük bir örneklem büyüklüðü ile ve Türkiye'nin deðiþik bölgelerinde deðerlendirilmesi önerilmektedir.

DIFFICULTIES EXPERIENCED BY THE ASTHMATIC PATIENTS

Asthma is an important national health priority because of its high and increasing prevalence, high morbidity and mortality and also direct and indirect costs. Chronic diseases like asthma have a great impact on the everyday life of patients. The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine the difficulties experienced by the asthmatic patients in Southern Turkey. The sample was composed of 105 asthma patients who had been receiving medical therapy in an university hospital. Data were collected through a demographic data form and the questionnaire about the asthma patients' physical, psychological, social, economic and treatment-related difficulties. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 20.0 for Windows. Descriptive statistics were used to define the characteristics of the asthma patients' and responses related to the experiences and the main variables. The asthma patients in the sample averaged 55.68 years of age and included most patients who were female (61.9%), married (77.1%), housewife (47.6%) and had completed primary education (40%). Physical difficulties experienced by the asthmatic patients were dyspnea (85.7%), wheezing (82.9%), tiredness (82.9%), cough (76.2%), psychological difficulties were sadness (67.6%), anxiety (64.8%), anger (59.0%), social difficulties were problem of entering to the closed /crowded places (65.7%), problem of visiting to their relatives / friends (47.6%), economical difficulties were loss of income (36.2%), inability to pay for expensive drug charges (30.5%), treatment-related difficulties were problem of receiving enough information about the asthma attack (48.5%), problem of receiving enough information about the treatment (32.3%). The information gathered from this study led us to reevaluate the healthcare services for asthmatic patients to improve physical, psychological, and social aspects of the nursing care as a whole. This study should be further evaluated with a larger sample size, and in different regions in Turkey.