Work

Racial/ethnic differences in pediatric asthma management: the importance of asthma knowledge, symptom assessment, and family-provider collaboration

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: Background Asthma disproportionately impacts youth from marginalized minority backgrounds. Aspects of core asthma management (asthma management and medication beliefs) were examined among a cohort of diverse families.Methods Caregiver-youth dyads (N = 92; Mage= 13.8 years; non-Hispanic/Latinx White (NLW) = 40%; Black/African-American = 25%; Hispanic/Latinx= 35%) completed a medication beliefs questionnaire (Medication Necessity, Medication Concerns) and a semi-structured interview (Family Asthma Management System Scale (FAMSS)). FAMSS subscales (Asthma Knowledge, Symptom Assessment, Family Response to Symptoms, Child Response to Symptoms, Environmental Control, Medication Adherence, Family-Provider Collaboration, and Balanced Integration) were used for analyses.Results More Hispanic/Latinx families were at or below the poverty line (75%) relative to NLW (22%) and Black/African-American (39%) families (p < 0.001). Adherence (p < 0.01), Knowledge (p < 0.001), and Symptom Assessment (p < 0.01) were higher for NLW relative to Black/African-American families. Collaboration was higher among NLW (p = 0.01) and Hispanic/Latinx families (p = 0.05). Effect sizes were moderate (η2= 0.10–0.12). Parental race/ethnicity moderated the relationship between adherence and parental perceived medication concern and necessity for NLW and Hispanic/Latinx families. As medication concerns increased, medication adherence decreased, however, only for NLW and Hispanic/Latinx families.Conclusions In this sample, racial/ethnic differences emerged for elements of asthma management. Interview-based ratings of asthma management among Black/African-American families depicted lower asthma knowledge, lower levels of family-provider collaboration, and lower medication adherence. The relationship between medication concerns and adherence appeared to differ by ethnic group. Future research is needed to elucidate cultural factors that influence family-provider relationships and health-related behaviors, like medication use/adherence.

Source: Journal of Asthma

DOI: 10.1080/02770903.2020.1784191

Authors: Alayna P. Tackett, Michael Farrow, Sheryl J. Kopel, Maria T. Coutinho, Daphne Koinis-Mitchell, Elizabeth L. McQuaid

Institutions: OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Hasbro Children's Hospital, Brown University

Language: English

Topic: Asthma and respiratory diseases

Subfield: Physiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funders: Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development