Asthma Knowledge and Medication Compliance Among Parents of Asthmatic Children in Nanjing, China

Abstract

Asthma knowledge and medication compliance among parents of 150 asthmatic children in Nanjing were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. The results showed that 54.7% of parents had poor knowledge of asthma and its management. Parental compliance with medication was also suboptimal as only 43.3% of parents reported adherence with prescribed anti-asthmatic medication for their children. Reasons for non-compliance included fear of medication side-effects and tolerance, and forgetting to give the child's medication. Education and occupation were found to be associated with asthma knowledge, however there was no association between age or income with knowledge. Income was associated with compliance with asthma medication, however no association was found between parents' age, education, occupation, or asthma knowledge with compliance. This study has identified the need for accurate and up-to-date information on asthma for parents of asthmatic children as well as programs aimed at teaching parents skills in managing their child's asthma. There is also the need for strategies aimed at improving communication between the health provider and parents of asthmatic children.

Caregiver knowledge and its relationship to asthma control among children in Saudi Arabia

“…Similarly, a study in China reported that 63.3% of parents knew that asthma is due to inflammation and swelling of the lungs [15]. A systematic review of factors affecting adherence to asthma treatment by Howel [26] showed that a poor understanding of the role of controller medications is significantly associated with a lack of adherence.…”

“…Various aspects of knowledge related to asthma management, such as poor understanding of the nature of the disease, parental myths and beliefs and a lack of knowledge about main triggers, asthma treatment and medications, have been explored in previous studies [14][15][16][17][18]. Unfortunately, we were not able to identify similar studies conducted in Saudi Arabia.…”

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“…The presence of higher FeNO levels indicated the existence of airway inflammation, even in a relatively "healthy" status. Actually, there is a relatively lower prevalence of chronic steroid application in children with asthma in China, and a survey performed in a large children's hospital showed that only 43.3% of parents reported adherence to prescribed anti-asthma medications for their children (26). High airway inflammation could be a risk factor for subsequent asthma relapse (27); this indicated that it is important to control airway inflammation in the asthmatic patients even without clinical symptoms.…”

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“…. " (19). Some, however, were quick to point out that the amount of responsibility given to a child needed to be individualized and developmentally appropriate.…”

“…Children may not be motivated to adhere to regimens (16) and may therefore need reminding by parents (17). Previous research has identified a strong parental fear of side effects from asthma medicines, particularly from corticosteroids (18,19). Child embarrassment over taking medicines in public has also been reported (16).…”