"PERCEPTION ON THE ASTHMA AMONGST RESPIRATORY

THERAPY STUDENTS"

A Thesis

Presented to

The Faculty of the Respiratory Therapy Department

School of Allied Medicine
Universidad de Zamboanga
Zamboanga City

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements in Research

LAWRENCE A. MARCELO
TRISHA MAY P. MENDOZA
ABDEL HIEZAM D. PAEL
KIMBERLY S. SALINAS

March 2020
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Universidad de Zamboanga is a private university located at J.S. Atilano Street,

Tetuan, Zamboanga City. It houses different course program such as School of

Graduate Studies (SGS), School of Allied Medicine (SAM), School of Criminal Justice

(SCJ), School of Business and Management (SBM), School of Engineering, Information

and Communications Technology (SEICT), Institute of Technical Education (ITE),

School of Education, Arts and Services (SEAS), and their recent course program which

is the School of Dentistry (SOD).

Having a big and campus with a variety of student. It is an everyday challenge as

to how the school will keep their surroundings clean. Maintenance are working very

hard to keep the place sanitized and well-managed to be able to accommodate the

needs of the large group of students in their everyday activity in the school.

Concerning that the school is clean and is a good place to pursue our dreams, it

doesn’t exclude the fact that some places here in Universidad de Zamboanga are
bacteria-filed; this includes the stagnant water at some secluded places that results to a

vast reproduction of mosquitoes, the numerous population of pests which includes stray

cats at the school canteen and at some particular vicinity and other prevailing cases that

are yet to be discovered.

Since the school is located along side of the road, it is also a huge problem for

students to avoid the dust from the road brought by different vehicles and the air

population that may be inhaled upon entering the school. Once we are able to breathe

in polluted air, air pollutants might travel deep into our lungs and this may cause a

respiratory problem and it can actually worsen or severe.

Considering that the students are always on the road or out from their houses,

they are particularly susceptible to the consequence brought by air pollution. Usually,

students from the tertiary level ages from eighteen (18) to twenty-three (23) years old

and their lung surfaces are larger and relative to their weight and height. Hence, the

bigger the lungs the more amount of air they can breathe-in. Furthermore, students are

required to stay longer hours outside their shelter to comply o their academic needs and

requirements. With this factors, students are very much vulnerable to the different kinds

of respiratory problems that air pollution can bring (PSR, 2009)

 When levels of air pollution rises it can trigger conditions such as asthma and

chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases or such representations towards the students.

In addition, it is really evident that cigarette smoking is prevalent amongst the teenagers

or mostly college students. It is being said that social status, level of education, age and

sex play an important role in the formation of views towards smoking (Sevleta Avdic,

2015).

Theoretical Framework

This study supports a quantitative research study specifically the descriptive

research on the respiratory problems in Universidad de Zamboanga students for the

school year 2019-2020 particularly the Respiratory Department students 1 st year to 4th

year level. It would aim to discover and unravel the collected data that would be further

discussed and decoded by the researchers providing a research paper containing

numerical data that would be used as evidence to the researcher’s topic. Descriptive

Research is a design used to define a phenomena in a given sample using quantifiable

descriptors. It will include the use of frequency count, percentage, Likert scale, mean

and standard deviation in producing an outcome (Lucero, 2018)

Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework shows the interrelationship of the independent

variable and dependent variable. As shown in figure 1, the dependent variable of this

study is the perception on the asthma while on the other hand respiratory therapy student

is the independent variable.

Independe nt
Respiratory Therapy Variable Perception on
students
the asthma

Dependent

Variable

Figure 1

Conceptual Paradigm of the Study

Figure 1 illustrates the conceptual framework of the comparative study of the respiratory

problems of the respiratory therapy students’ for the school year 2019-2020.
Statement of the problem

This study aims to reveal the answers to the following questions in accord to

every student’s health and the common illnesses recorded at Universidad de Zambanga

(MAIN CAMPUS).

1. Which gender has the most number of asthma?

2. What is the top perception of respiratory therapy students?

3. Is there a significant difference on the perception of asthma towards respiratory

therapy students?

Research Hypothesis

There is no significant difference on the perception of asthma towards respiratory

therapy students.

Significance of the Study

The fact that sickness is unpredictable and may attack anyone without exception

is what led the researchers to unlock the secluded cause of this problem.

 For the students

 This research study will be beneficial to students in order to have an additional

information as to how these problems can affect their academic and health,

respectively.

 For the parents

This research study will help the parents to be able to discipline their children so

that they can avoid doing things that can worsen the problems.

 For the future researchers

This research study will serve as their backbone when encountering the same

research proposal.

Scopes and Delimitations

This study will only focus on the different respiratory problems that the respiratory

therapy students acquired and will be conducted on the premises of the school. This

study will only delimit from the 1 st to 4th year level of Respiratory Therapy Department

students who are enrolled for the school year 2019-2020.

Definition of terms

Perception- is the state of being or process of becoming aware of something through

the senses.

Asthma- a respiratory condition marked by spasms in the bronchi of the lungs, causing
difficulty in breathing. It usually results from an allergic reaction or other forms of
hypersensitivity.