Abstract
Objective
To assess the knowledge of nursing practitioners towards use of meter dose inhalers (MDIs) and to study the association between their knowledge on MDI use and selected demographic variables.
Subjects and Methods
This cross sectional study was performed at the College of Medical Sciences-Teaching Hospital, Bharatpur, Nepal among the nursing practitioners of the hospital working during November, 2010. An ‘MDI use evaluation score chart’ was prepared as per the National Asthmatic Education and Prevention Programme (NAEPP) and was used in the study. The chart contained all ten steps involved in using an MDI. The nurses working in the hospital were invited one by one in a room and were asked to demonstrate the use of MDIs using a placebo MDI. For every correctly demonstrated step, a score of ‘1’ was given and for every incorrect step a score of ‘0’ was given.
Results
Altogether 100 nursing practitioners (among the total 175) provided their response with a response rate of 57.14%. The mean age of the respondents was 21.77± 2.14 years and their median (interquartile range) of duration of experience was 9 (3-15) months. Most (88%) of the respondents demonstrated the second step ‘remove the cap’ and least number of respondents answered the last step ‘next dose after 1 minute’. There was no statistically significant association between the knowledge scores of the respondents with age (p=0.23), length of service (0.23) and worksite (p=0.35). However, there was a statistically significant association between the educational qualification of the respondents with their knowledge scores (P=0.043).

Conclusion
There was poor knowledge among the nursing practitioners on the use of MDIs. Duration of experience, worksite and age of the nurses did not influence their knowledge and the only thing that influenced was their educational qualifications. The findings suggest the need for in-service education for the practicing nurses. (Rawal Med J 2011;36:186-189).

Key words: Demonstration techniques, MDI, knowledge, Nepal, nurses.