Table 4 Issues in childhood asthma

Symptoms and resource use

• Children achieve a better level of symptom control than adults, and use more healthcare resources [32]

• 72% of parents reported their children having experienced a serious asthma event [14]

Understanding of asthma and its treatment

• Only 41% of parents referred to their child's disease as 'asthma' [14]

• 33% of parents of asthmatic children did not understand the terms 'controller' or 'preventer' therapy [12]

Impact on the life of children and family

• 21% of children had missed school within previous 3 months [12]

• 36% of children had limitations on physical activities [12]

• 6% of parents had missed work within previous 3 months [12]

• 20% of parents believed their children are treated badly at school [14]

• 50% of parents believed their lives were affected by their child's asthma [14]

Adherence

• Only 38% of parents stated that their children used controller medication regularly [12]

• Juveniles presented particular adherence issues, showing reluctance to use inhalers in the presence of others [13]

• In juveniles, specific decision-making tools for professionals as well as parents are helpful in identifying true severity and optimizing management [30]

• Customized self-reported questionnaires can help identify potential noncompliance in juveniles before this became a major issue [31]

Concerns about treatments

• 70% of parents were concerned about their children using inhaled corticosteroids [11]

• 33% of parents specified a desire for convenient nonsteroid treatments [14]

• 66% of parents would switch their child's therapy if possible because of concerns about side effects of current drugs [14]