ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Pulmonary Medicine
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1583829
Physicians' Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Regarding the Use of Glucocorticoids in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Provisionally accepted
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
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Objective: This study aims to investigate physicians' knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding the use of glucocorticoids in the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted from January to March 2024 in China, spearheaded by the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine. A self-designed structured questionnaire was used to collect demographic data and assess participants' KAP scores. Results: A total of 359 valid responses were included in the analysis. Of the participants, 211 (58.77%) were female, and 260 (72.42%) had attended relevant lectures or training. The mean scores for knowledge, attitude, and practice were 45.96 ± 7.80 (range: 11-55), 51.83 ± 5.14 (range: 12-60), and 32.39 ± 4.69 (range: 8-40), respectively. The Structural equation modeling showed that department (β = -3.25, P < 0.001), involvement in teaching (β = -2.93, P < 0.001), average number of COPD patients consulted (β = 1.28, P < 0.001), and training attendance (β = -3.42, P < 0.001) had a direct impact on knowledge. Knowledge (β = 0.29, P < 0.001) directly influenced attitude, while both knowledge (β = 0.29, P < 0.001) and attitude (β = 0.30, P = 0.014), along with training attendance (β = -1.52, P < 0.001), directly affected practice. Conclusion: Physicians demonstrated adequate knowledge, positive attitude, and proactive practice regarding glucocorticoid use in COPD management. Targeted educational programs, particularly for specific departments and teaching staff, are recommended to enhance knowledge and optimize glucocorticoid use in COPD treatment.
Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Glucocorticoids, physician, Knowledge, attitude, practice, Cross-sectional study
Received: 18 Apr 2025; Accepted: 16 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Lv, Lu, Wei and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Shi Chen, cshonest1981@sina.com
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