Parents' Specific Concerns about Daily Asthma Medications for Children

Abstract

Specific concerns from 706 parents regarding their children's (M age = 8.0, SD = 3.9) use of daily asthma medications were systematically identified and organized. 270 (38.2%) of 706 parents expressed a total of 470 concerns (M = 1.74, SD = 0.93; Range 1–5), including concerns about side effects (48.9%; e.g., growth retardation); aspects of the regimen (29.3%; e.g., medication amount); and “steroid” use (10.4%). Independent predictors of parental concern included use of inhaled corticosteroids (OR = 1.60, 95% CI 1.07–2.40), nasal corticosteroids (OR = 1.70, 95% CI 1.21–2.38), and alternative therapies (OR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.32–2.56). Providers should be prepared to address a wide range of medication concerns, especially those related to side effects.

Keywords:

• Medication concerns
• children
• asthma
• parents
• daily controller medications

Abbreviation
NHLBI,	=	National Heart;
CI,	=	Confidence Interval;
DCM,	=	Daily Controller Medications;
GEE,	=	General Estimating Equation;
NHLBI,	=	National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute;
RR,	=	Relative Risk;
OR,	=	Odds Ratio;
SD,	=	Standard Deviation

Abbreviation
NHLBI,	=	National Heart;
CI,	=	Confidence Interval;
DCM,	=	Daily Controller Medications;
GEE,	=	General Estimating Equation;
NHLBI,	=	National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute;
RR,	=	Relative Risk;
OR,	=	Odds Ratio;
SD,	=	Standard Deviation