Interpretation of common respiratory symptoms and atopic diseases by parents of asthmatic children and their perceptions towards asthma medication

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Date
2002
Authors
Fauzi, Fazuliati
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Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
Survey evidence indicates an increased prevalence of asthma and atopic diseases in childhood. Whether it represents the true increment depends on the ways in which parents respond to survey questions. Studies also showed that there are problems in compliance towards asthma medications especially inhalers. Objectives: 1. To investigate parents' interpretation of the common symptoms of asthma and atopic diseases. 2. To describe parents' perception towards the use of inhaled medication for asthma therapy. Methodology: An interview was conducted from March 2001 to September 2002 in HKB and HUSM. Parents of asthmatic children who attended asthma clinic at HUSM and HKB and whose children were admitted for asthma to the paediatric general ward HUSM were included in the study. Parents of non-asthmatic children who attended paediatric clinic at HUSM and whose children were admitted to the paediatric general ward HUSM were recruited as controls. Parents were interviewed using a standard questionnaire containing demographic data, interpretation on common respiratory symptoms and atopic disease and their perception towards asthma medications. Results: One hundred percent of parents of asthmatic children mentioned that their children ever had "Ielah" compared to 7 .6°/o parents of non-asthmatic children (P<0.001 ). The majority of parents described "Ielah" as difficulty in breathing (64.3o/o for asthmatic group and 83.5°/o for non-asthmatic group). The parents had difficulty in the interpretation of noisy breathing, most of the parents (59.3°/o) only imitate the sounds. 88.9o/o of parents of asthmatic children who have allergic rhinitis said their children had uresdung" whereas only 14. 7o/o of parents of asthmatic children who did not have allergic rhinitis said their children had "resdung" (P<0.001 ). For eczema, there were no any specific words which can represent eczema. A majority of parents preferred the usage of inhalers (68.5°/o) but they were concerned about the side effects of long-term usage and dependency towards the drugs. Conclusion: Word "Ielah" was used by all parents of asthmatic children and a majority describe "Ielah" as difficulty in breathing. There were no specific words to described noisy breathing. Our population did not describe the noisy breathing as whistling as had been used in the survey questionnaire. Word "resdung" was used by 88.9o/o of parents of asthmatic children who have allergic rhinitis. "Resdung" can also be used to describe nasal symptoms due to other nasal problems such as flu, infection and others. This may explained the low positive predictive value (62.7o/o) of "resdung". The use of inhalers was appropriate for our population.
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Keywords
Asthma
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