Parental quality of life and self-efficacy in pediatric asthma

Abstract

Objective: Self-efficacy is the personal belief that a behavior can produce a desired result; and in asthma, self-efficacy in asthma care has been related to improvements in asthma outcomes and children’s quality of life. To appreciate the full burden of asthma on families, the relationship between parental self-efficacy and quality of life also needs further study. We aim to characterize this relationship.

Methods: Secondary analysis of measurements of parents of children with persistent asthma (n = 252; ages 4-17 years) from a large urban area were identified from a randomized trial; the association between baseline assessments of parental quality of life, measured by the Pediatric Asthma Caregiver’s Quality of Life Questionnaire (PACQLQ), and parental self-efficacy, measured through the Parental Asthma Management Self-Efficacy Scale (PAMSES), were examined through multivariable linear regression.

Results: Parental self-efficacy in asthma was positively associated with quality of life among parents of racially and ethnically diverse children (p = 0.01). Confidence in using medications correctly (p = 0.03), having inhalers during a child’s serious breathing problem (p = 0.02), and knowing which medications to use during a child’s serious breathing problem (p = 0.04) were associated with a clinically meaningful difference in parental quality of life. Other significant factors associated with parental quality of life included Hispanic/Latino ethnicity (p < 0.01) of the child and Asthma Control Test scores (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: The findings suggest that improving parental confidence on when and how to use their child’s asthma medications, particularly during an asthma attack, might be clinically meaningful in enhancing parent’s quality of life.

Keywords:

• Pediatrics
• education
• quality of life
• self-efficacy

Declaration of interest

Dr Gupta receives support from The National Institutes of Health (R21 ID# AI135705, R01 ID# AI130348), Allergy and Asthma Network, Food Allergy Research & Education, ρ Inc, Stanford Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy Research, Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS), Aimmune Therapeutics, UnitedHealth Group, Mylan, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and the National Confectioners Association (NCA); and has served as a medical consultant/advisor for Aimmune Therapeutics, Pfizer, Before Brands, Mylan, Kaléo, and DBV Technologies.

Additional information

Funding

The Improving Technology-Assisted Recording of Asthma Control in Children Trial was funded by UnitedHealth Group. Dr. Kan and this study was supported by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality under a K12 grant (1 K12 HS026385-01). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.