Factors associated with caregivers' knowledge about childhood asthma in Ilesa, Nigeria

Bankole Peter Kuti, Kehinde Oluyori Omole

Annals of Nigerian Medicine 2016 10(1):30-36

Background: Children with asthma depend on their parents/caregivers for their asthma control. The level of knowledge of these caregivers has been found to affect the control of the disease. This study aims to assess the knowledge of parents/caregivers of children with asthma and to determine the factors associated with these levels of knowledge. Methods: Consecutive children aged 2–14 years with physician-diagnosed asthma and their caregivers who attend the pediatric chest clinic of the Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa, Nigeria, during a 6 months study period were recruited. Parental/caregiver's level of knowledge about childhood asthma was assessed using a 25-item Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire (AKQ) and knowledge levels were categorized into good and poor knowledge. Relevant history and examination findings were appropriately compared between those with good and poor knowledge. Results: Fifty-two caregiver–child pairs were participated in the study. The children age ranged from 2 to 13 years with mean (standard deviation [SD]) of 6.6 (3.6) years and male:female ratio of 1.7:1. Majority (88.5%) of the children had mild intermittent asthma. Mother is the caregiver in 48 (92.3%) of participants. The mean (SD) score from the AKQ was 11.2 (3.7) which ranged from 1 to 18. The scores were significantly higher in questions related to triggers of exacerbation and quality of life of asthmatics than those related to nature, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease (P < 0.05). Twenty (38.5%) caregivers had a good score (AKQ >12) and good knowledge correlated positively with duration of diagnosis of asthma (P < 0.05). Good childhood asthma knowledge was observed among caregivers with family history of asthma, previous asthma-related hospitalization in the child, and in those with postsecondary education significantly had better knowledge of childhood asthma. Conclusion: Caregivers' knowledge about childhood asthma in Ilesa is poor particularly as related to nature, diagnosis, and treatment. However, the presence of family history of asthma, previous asthma-related hospitalization, and high educational status in caregivers of children with asthma are significantly associated with increased knowledge about the condition. Attention should be placed on more comprehensive parental and child asthma education for successful asthma management.

http://ift.tt/2czGlD3