Asthma knowledge among parents of asthmatic children who had recurrent admissions

• Main Authors: Abdullah, Ahmad Fadzil, Mohamed Zainuddin, Norzila
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Asia Pacific Pediatrics Association 2006
• Subjects: R Medicine (General); RJ Pediatrics
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/116946/1/Asthma%20Knowledge%20Among%20Parents%20of%20Asthmatic%20Children%20Who%20Had%20Recurrent%20Admissions%20.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/116946/; https://apjpch.com/index.php
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Introduction: This study was conducted with the aim of assessing asthma knowledge among caregivers of asthmatic children with recurrent hospital admissions. Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the paediatrics ward in Hospital Tengku Afzan, Kuantan, Malaysia over a period of one year. Caregivers and asthmatic children who were readmitted during that period were interviewed. The information obtained were the caregivers' age, education, income, children's age, compliance, numbers of admission, prophylaxis, trigger factors, allergic rhinitis, eczema, environmental factors such as presence of smokers and pets. Asthma knowledge were determined using a 31-item questionnaire. Results: 49.7% (158) asthmatic children were readmitted more than once due to asthma exacerbations. Fifty-four families participated and there were 65 parents (40 mothers and 25 fathers). The parental asthma knowledge was 17.2 (S.D 3.6) . The level of asthma knowledge correlated significantly with parental education (r=0.37, p=0.002) and family income (r=0.36, p=0.003). Conclusion: Asthma knowledge was generally low among parents whose children readmitted more than once for asthma exacerbations.