Non-communicable disease (NCD) managers are the main force in the prevention and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) . Understanding the perceptions of COPD among NCD managers in primary care in rural areas can provide a scientific basis for enhancing future prevention and management of COPD in primary care.

To investigate the perceptions of COPD in NCD managers in rural primary care, offering a scientific basis for the improvement of COPD prevention and management in primary care.

In June 2021, random sampling method was used to select 20 township hospitals in Zigong, Sichuan Province, and from which NCD managers〔including general practitioners (GPs) , public health workers and rural doctors〕were selected by use of cluster sampling. A survey was conducted with them using a self-developed questionnaire (consisting of two parts: general demographics and COPD-related knowledge) for understanding their perceptions of COPD.

All the cases (n=474) who participated in the survey returned responsive questionnaires, achieving a response rate of 100.0%, including 68 GPs (14.4%) , 177 public health workers (37.3%) , and 229 rural doctors (48.3%) . With regards to answering the questions of comprehensive COPD knowledge, GPs had statistically significant higher pass rate than rural doctors〔35.3% (24/68) vs 7.4% (17/229) 〕 (P<0.017) , and public health workers also had statistically notably higher pass rate than rural doctors〔31.6% (56/177) vs 7.4% (17/229) 〕 (P<0.017) . In terms of answering the questions about risk factors of COPD, GPs had statistically significant higher pass rate than rural doctors〔73.5% (50/68) vs 46.3% (106/229) 〕 (P<0.017) , and so did public health workers〔66.7% (118/177) vs 46.3% (106/229) 〕 (P<0.017) . In terms of answering the questions about diagnosis and evaluation of COPD, GPs had statistically significant higher pass rate〔38.2% (26/68) 〕than public health workers〔20.3% (36/177) 〕or rural doctors〔3.9% (9/229) 〕 (P<0.017) , and the pass rate of public health workers was statistically significant higher than that of rural doctors (P<0.017) . In terms of answering the questions about treatment strategies for COPD, GPs had statistically significant higher pass rate than rural doctors〔30.9% (21/68) vs 6.6% (15/229) 〕 (P<0.017) , and so did public health workers〔19.2% (34/177) vs 6.5% (15/229) 〕 (P<0.017) . In terms of answering the questions regarding follow-up management for COPD, public health workers had statistically significant higher pass rate than GPs〔46.9% (83/177) vs 29.4% (20/68) 〕and rural doctors〔46.9% (83/177) vs 14.4% (33/229) 〕 (P<0.017) . And GPs had statistically significant higher pass rate than rural doctors (P<0.017) .

The NCD managers in primary care in rural areas of Sichuan's Zigong have insufficient knowledge of COPD, especially its diagnosis, evaluation, treatment strategies and follow-up management. NCD managers from different positions have different perceptions of COPD, among them rural doctors have the lowest level of perception. In view of the above problems, we need to take targeted measures to improve the level of general prevention and management of COPD in rural primary care.