Inhaler usage errors and investigation of the affecting factors

Purpose: This study was carried out to examine inhaler usage errors and factors affecting them. Method: The research is descriptive and cross-sectional. The sampling of the research was carried out between June 2019 - December 2019 which comprised 180 patients who volunteered to participate in the study, meeting the inclusion criteria in the Chest Diseases services in the İzmir Dr. Suat Seren Chest Diseases and Surgery Training and Research Hospital. In the study, the Socio-demographic Characteristics Form prepared in line with the literature, MDI Usage Skill Check-list, the Charlson Comorbidity Inventory, the Daily Life Activities, the Instrumental Daily Life Activities (ADL / IADL) and the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Mini Mental State Examination Test were used. Percentage calculations, mean, t-test, Mann Whitney – U, Kruskal Wallis, Chi-square test, correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the data. Results: At the end of the study, there was a statistically significant weak correlation between the mean age of patients and the number of dose inhaler use errors measured (r=0.172, p=0.021). It was found that 91.1% of the patients participating in the study did not breathe before putting the inhaler in their mouths, 87.8% did not hold their breath for 10 seconds, and 95.6% did not wait at least 30 seconds, preferably 3-5 minutes before the second dose. Conclusion: In inhaler use, it was found that almost all of the patients made mistakes on the steps of not breathing deeply before inhalation and not keeping the breath taken after drug inhalation for a certain period of time. It is recommended to do this study in a larger sample group. It is thought that the high rate of error is affected by the non-participation of the nurse in education. The educational role of the nurse should not be overlooked. Keywords: Errors in Inhaler Use, Asthma, COPD.