Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Management of Childhood Asthma among the Parents who seek Treatment for their Asthmatic Child from Lady Ridgeway Hospital, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Background: Asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory diseases in childhood in the world and it was estimated that 14% of the children experienced symptoms of asthma. The prevalence of asthma among 5 to 11 years old children in Sri Lanka varies between 13% to 25% and it is a major cause of school absence. Good knowledge, attitudes and practice is vital to manage childhood asthma and to achieve better treatment outcomes. Objectives: To assess knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the management of childhood asthma among parents who seek treatment for their asthmatic child from Lady Ridgeway Hospital, Sri Lanka. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected 181 parents who seek treatment for their asthmatic child from medical clinic at Lady Ridgeway Hospital, Sri Lanka. Interviewer administrated questionnaire was used as a data collection tool. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. SPSS version 23 was used as a data analytical tool. Results: Most of the asthmatic children were Sinhalese (74%), males (59.1%) with the age of 5 to 16 years (51.9%). Only 13% of them had birth defects and 22% of them had past medical history other than asthma. Most of the mothers (53.6%) belong to 18 to 35 years of age and most of the fathers (66.3%) belong to 36 to 55 years of age. More than half of the mothers (55.2%) and 47.5% of the fathers were educated up to G.C.E O/L. Nearly, half (48.6%) of the parents had poor knowledge regarding management of childhood asthma. Only 6.6% of parents had poor attitudes towards their asthmatic child. The majority of the parents (86.7%) had good practices regarding the asthma management. Conclusions: The study revealed that nearly half of the parents had poor knowledge regarding the management of childhood asthma. But majority of the parents had good attitudes towards their asthmatic child and good practices regarding the child hood asthma management.