Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire Research Articles

Caregiver knowledge and its relationship to asthma control among children in Saudi Arabia

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine caregiver responses to individual questions of the asthma knowledge questionnaire and to compare the prevalence of uncontrolled asthma among children according to caregiver responses (correct vs. incorrect). Methods: We conducted an analytical cross-sectional study among 158 children with asthma aged 4–11 who were attending the pediatric primary care clinic of the King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The asthma knowledge questionnaire for use with parents or guardians of children with asthma was used to measure the knowledge of caregivers. Asthma control in the children was measured using an Arabic version of the childhood asthma control test. Pearson’s chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare the prevalence of uncontrolled asthma according to the caregivers’ responses. Results: This study showed substantial gaps in knowledge among caregivers of children with asthma. The answer to only one of 17 questions was well known (86.1%); this question involved the harm of smoking near a child with asthma. Answers on 11 of 17 questions were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with asthma control in children. Among the key questions explored, the prevalence of uncontrolled asthma was 3.0 (1.8–4.9), 2.5 (95% confidence interval = 1.7–3.9) and 1.8 (1.3–2.5) times higher among children of caregivers who did not disagree with the statements that it is not good for children to use an inhaler for too long, that inhalers can affect or damage the heart, and that children with asthma should use asthma medications only when they have symptoms. Conclusions: Although innovations are needed to help patients improve their adherence to treatment and to effectively utilize the benefits of contemporary asthma medications, we observe substantial knowledge-related problems in the asthma management of children in Saudi Arabia.

Validación de un cuestionario en castellano sobre conocimientos de asma en profesores

ObjectiveTo evaluate the reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the NewCastle Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire (NAKQ) for determining asthma knowledge in teachers. MethodsDesign and sample: A cross-sectional observational study in educational centers of A Coruña providing preschool, primary school and/or compulsory secondary education. Centers were selected by random sampling, stratified by ownership and educational level (24centers, 864teachers). A total of 537 (62.1%) teachers responded (precision, ±4%, confidence, 95%). MeasurementsAge, sex, academic training, teaching experience, personal/family history of asthma, NAKQ. AnalysisEvaluation of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha). Concurrent validity was determined by comparing scores of asthmatic teachers or with asthmatic relatives with teachers with no contact with asthma. Test-retest reliability was evaluated in two randomly selected centers by the kappa index, Bland-Altman method and intraclass correlation coefficient. ResultsMean score on the NAKQ was 15.7±5.3 (median 17), correctly answering 50.6% of items.Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.824 (95%CI: 0.802-0.845). NAKQ score was higher in asthmatic teachers or with close asthmatic relatives (17.7±3.3) than in teachers with distant asthmatic relatives (16.1±5.4) and teachers without close contact with asthma (15.1±5.6; P<0.001).In the test-retest analysis (kappa 0.33-1), there were no differences in NAKQ score between the first and second completion (mean difference, 0.3±2.3; intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.863). ConclusionsScores obtained with the Spanish version of the NAKQ in teachers of Spanish school centers are reliable and valid to measure their degree of asthma knowledge.

Asthma knowledge, subjective assessment of severity and symptom perception in parents of children with asthma

Objectives: This study aimed to confirm the tendency for parents to underestimate the severity of symptoms and the poor consistency between parents’ reports of symptoms and the physicians’ evaluation of asthma control. Additionally, the relationship between parents’ asthma knowledge and their report of symptoms and estimation of asthma severity was explored. Methods: Fifty children (M = 10.5 years) and their caregivers were recruited from two Portuguese hospitals. A measure of asthma symptoms report (Severity of Chronic Asthma, SCA) and a subjective evaluation of asthma severity were collected and compared with physicians’ ratings of asthma control, as well as parents’ knowledge about asthma (Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire, AKQ) and emotional disturbance (Brief Symptom Inventory, BSI). Results: Although parents’ evaluation of perceived asthma severity was moderately correlated to symptoms reported, results confirm an inconsistency between parents’ reports of symptoms, their subjective rating of asthma severity and the physician’s rating of clinical control, revealing a tendency for parents to underestimate disease severity and to underreport asthma symptoms. Asthma knowledge was not significantly correlated to SCA or to parents’ subjective evaluation of asthma severity. Parents with poorer knowledge reported fewer symptoms. Conclusions: Portuguese parents revealed a tendency to overestimate their child’s level of asthma control and a low level of asthma knowledge. Parents’ education, psychological disturbance and time since diagnosis were associated with asthma knowledge. Parents’ knowledge was not related to the child’s asthma outcomes or to their subjective evaluation of asthma severity or symptoms reports. Parents’ asthma knowledge deficits, underreporting of symptoms and underestimation of asthma severity, may affect parent–provider communication and impede asthma control.

Impacto de una intervención educativa sobre asma en los profesores

ObjectiveOur objective was to measure the impact of an educational intervention program on teacher's knowledge about asthma and its management. Material and methodBefore and after quasi-experimental study, with control group, of an educational intervention, which had as its aim to improve the teacher's knowledge of asthma and its management, was conducted in some schools of San Sebastian (Gipuzkoa), Spain. The Newcastle Asthma knowledge Questionnaire (NAKQ) was used as a measuring tool, and an adaptation of the asthma, sport and health program was used as an educational intervention. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare the total score of the questionnaire before and after the intervention, and the McNemar test was performed to compare the percentages of correct answers to each item. The Mann-Whitney U test was also performed to compare the baseline score and the score at three months between the intervention group and control group. The size of the effect and the standardised mean response were studied. ResultsA total of 138 teachers from 6 schools, which were chosen at random (study group), and 43 teachers in the control group participated in the study. In the study group, the mean score of the NAKQ before the educational intervention was 16.1±3.4 points, with a median of 16 (range 7 to 23). After the intervention the mean score increased to 22.3±4.1, with a median of 23 (range, 6 to 29). The mean difference in the overall score of the NAKQ was 7.0±4.2 points, with a median of 8 (range, -2 to17). Furthermore, the size of the effect was 2.0 (> 0.8) and the standardised mean response was 1.7. After 3 months of the intervention the mean score of the NAKQ was 21.4±3.0 points, with a median of 22 (range, 12 to 29) which was significantly higher than the score obtained before the intervention (P<.001) and slightly lower than the score obtained immediately after the intervention, assuming a size of the effect of 1.6 and a standardised mean response of 1.2. In the control group, the level of knowledge did not change modified and was lower than the level of the intervention group (P<.001). ConclusionsAn educational intervention program conducted among teachers significantly increases their knowledge of asthma. Moreover, the increase reduces slightly but maintains its higher level for at least 3 months. In spite of the fact that some aspects of knowledge improved with the educational intervention, they were not optimal.

Situación de los conocimientos, las actitudes y la calidad de vida en asma de adolescentes y profesorado. Necesidad de educar en los centros de enseñanza

IntroductionKnowledge and attitudes toward asthma can condition the integration of adolescents with asthma in school and affect their quality of life. Our objective was to determine the state of knowledge, attitudes on asthma in secondary schools, and its relationship to quality of life of pupils with asthma, as an early step to an educational intervention. MethodsDescriptive and cross-sectional study of pupils aged 13 and 14 years old and their teachers in 26 schools of Seville and province. We used, as study tools, the Newcastle Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire, the Gibson attitudes towards asthma, and the Paediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire.To assess the normality of variables, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used, and for non-parametric variables the U Mann-Whitney and W Wilcoxon tests were used. For the association between variables, we use the regression coefficients and rho Spearman. ResultsWe studied 3827 pupils (279 with asthma) and 548 teachers. All had little knowledge about asthma. The quality of life in asthma was mild to moderately affected, and lower in girls, 5.38±1.08 (95% CI=5.20 to 5.55) than in boys 5.77 (± 1.18) (95% CI=5.56 to 5.97), P=.0000. We found no relationship between knowledge, attitudes and quality of life in asthma. ConclusionsWe found a low level of knowledge about asthma in pupils and teacher. Asthma sufferers have a mild to moderate asthma quality of life, which is worse for girls. Knowledge has no relationship with attitudes to asthma in all groups, or with the quality of life of asthma sufferers.

Relationship among asthma knowledge, behavior management and social adaptation in school‐age children with asthma in Taiwan

This study examined the relationships between asthma knowledge, behavior management, and social adaptation among school-age children with asthma. A total of 210 school-age asthmatic children and their parents were recruited from a medical hospital in Taiwan. The children completed asthma knowledge and behavior management questionnaires, and their parents completed the Child and Adolescent Adjustment Profile. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between behavior management and social adaptation among asthmatic children. Asthma knowledge and behavior management were positively associated but did not correlate with children's social adaptation. The behavior management of the children acted as a predictor of their social adaptation. These findings suggest that efforts to raise children's asthma knowledge will benefit these individuals in terms of behavior management. The introduction of asthma behavior management plans could facilitate the social adaptation of asthmatic children and, in particular, increase their independence and reduce their withdrawal as well as enhance their self-confidence and self-esteem.

Effect of patient education and standard treatment guidelines on asthma control: an intervention trial.

Denial of having a chronic condition, poor knowledge of the disease process and lack of adherence to standard treatment are often considered to be important factors that increase morbidity in asthma. We evaluated the effect of standard treatment guidelines and asthma education programme on asthma control among patients enrolled from a referral health facility of Delhi in India. Fifty patients who visited the health facility first time for treatment of asthma were enrolled after confirming the diagnosis of asthma by symptoms and reversible spirometry. Patients were interviewed at baseline using three researcher-administered questionnaires - quality of asthma management questionnaire, asthma control questionnaire (ACQ) and asthma knowledge questionnaire (AKQ). All patients were given pharmacotherapy according to standard treatment guidelines. In addition, every alternate patient was also given a face-to-face educational intervention. Patients were followed up at 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks. The ACQ was used at each visit, and AKQ was reassessed at the twelfth week. The paired t test was used to detect significant changes in various domains of asthma control. The knowledge of asthma among patients and the care provided by previous health-care providers were found to be poor at baseline assessment. The application of standard treatment guidelines improved asthma control by the second week and the changes became significant by the fourth week, which persisted till the twelfth week (p <0.0001). Educational intervention led to improvements in knowledge in several domains. Improvements in asthma symptoms began earlier among those who had additional educational intervention. Standard treatment guidelines and asthma education improved asthma control.

Evaluation of the Fight Asthma Now (FAN) program to improve asthma knowledge in urban youth and teenagers

School-based asthma education programs targeting disadvantaged youth and teens with asthma are lacking. To assess the impact of the Fight Asthma Now (FAN) educational program among 2 populations of predominantly low-income minority students: youth (3(rd)-6(th) graders) and teens (7(th)-8(th) graders). Chicago-area elementary schools were invited to participate in this stratified 2-arm study. Eligible schools were assigned to participate either in the intervention or in the control arm. Within each participating school, eligible students were recruited and grouped (stratified by grade and age) to form teen or youth classes. Participants completed a pre- and post-intervention asthma knowledge questionnaire and observation for spacer technique competency. The treatment group received the FAN curriculum between the evaluations. A sample of 26 low-income, predominantly minority-serving schools was recruited. Most participating schools were randomized in a 3:1 ratio to form 25 youth classes (19 intervention and 6 control group) and 16 teen classes (11 intervention and 5 control group), resulting in 275 vs 69 youth and 141 vs 51 teens in the intervention and control groups, respectively. Stratified analyses were performed, and clustering within the school and class was taken into consideration in analyses. Multilevel models adjusting for school, class, ethnicity, sex, and pretest score indicate that the FAN intervention significantly increased both knowledge and spacer competency test scores, among both the youth and teen participants (P = .011 with respect to knowledge score among teen students, P < .0001 for all other cases). This study suggests that FAN significantly increases asthma knowledge and spacer technique competency within this high-risk population.

Development and validation of an asthma knowledge test for children 8-10 years of age

Although there are many instruments available to measure asthma knowledge in adult populations, a search of the literature identified the lack of valid and reliable instruments to assess the asthma knowledge of pre-adolescent children. The aim of this study was to develop and validate an asthma knowledge test for children 8-10 years of age. Three strategies were used to achieve the study objective: develop and design the asthma knowledge test; establish the content validity of test items; and conduct a pilot study to examine the validity, reliability and user friendliness of the instrument in a sample of 151 primary school children. A 24-item asthma knowledge test was developed based on selected items from the Newcastle Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire and supplemented with items from other instruments. Test items were worded to ensure they could be understood by 8- to 10-year-old children, and content validity confirmed by an expert panel. A pilot study demonstrated that the test was user friendly, generated responses that reflected varying degrees of item difficulty and produced scores on the test that discriminated between 'known groups'. Findings from this study indicate that an asthma knowledge test designed for primary school-age children has considerable promise. With further refinement and testing, this test will provide a valid and reliable measure of asthma knowledge in children with and without asthma that can be used in a wide range of childhood asthma studies.

Development and validation of an asthma knowledge questionnaire for use in Brazil

To develop and validate an asthma knowledge questionnaire for use in adult asthma patients in Brazil. A 34-item self-report questionnaire was constructed and administered to adult asthma patients and adult controls. The maximum total score was 34. The questionnaire was shown to be discriminatory, with good reliability and reproducibility. The mean score for asthma patients and controls was, respectively, 21.47 +/- 4.11 (range: 9-31) and 17.27 +/- 5.11 (range: 7-28; p < 0.001). The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.53, and the Bartlett's test of sphericity demonstrated a satisfactory suitability of the data to factor analysis (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the total scores obtained in the first and in the second application of the questionnaire within a two-week interval (p = 0.43). The internal consistency reliability (KR-20 coefficient) was 0.69. This study has validated an asthma knowledge questionnaire for use in Brazil.

Versión española del NAKQ. Adaptación transcultural y análisis de fiabilidad y validez

Introduction The Newcastle Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire for parents of children with asthma (NAKQ) has proven to be a valid instrument for asthma knowledge assessment of patients and their parents. The widespread use of the SRS-22 in non-English-speaking countries requires its transcultural adaptation. Our objective was to obtain a version of the NAKQ questionnaire adapted to Spanish and to analyze its validity and reliability. Material and methods The Spanish version was obtained by using the forward/back-translation method with expert, bilingual translators. The questionnaire was administered to 157 parents with high knowledge (n=78) and low knowledge (n=79) of asthma. The differences in the number of answers between both groups were analyzed with the χ 2 test. Internal consistency was determined with Cronbach's alpha coefficient and test–retest reliability with the tau-b of Kendall correlation coefficient, and kappa statistics. Results At the end of the process, 23 of the 31 items were classified as of total equivalence and eight ase of moderate equivalence. The mean score of parents high knowledge was 23±2.94 and the mean score of parents low knowledge was 16.84±2.56. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p<0.001). The overall Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.72, the Kendall's tau-b 0,8573 was significant (p=0.01) and the kappa index showed good or very good consistency in more than half of the items. Conclusions The Spanish version of the NAKQ has proven to be acceptable and culturally equivalent to the original version and it has a good degree of consistency, validity and reliability.

Pharmacist-initiated general practitioner referral of patients with suboptimal asthma management

To assess the impact of an intervention initiated by community pharmacists, involving the provision of educational material and general practitioner (GP) referral, on asthma knowledge and self-reported asthma control and asthma-related quality of life (QOL) in patients who may have suboptimal management of their asthma, as evidenced by pharmacy dispensing records. Setting Community pharmacies throughout Tasmania, Australia. Forty-two pharmacies installed a software application that data mined dispensing records and generated a list of patients with suboptimal asthma management, as indicated by having three or more canisters of inhaled short-acting beta-2-agonists dispensed in the preceding 6 months. Identified patients were randomised to an intervention or control group. At baseline, intervention patients were mailed intervention packs consisting of a letter encouraging them to see their GP for a review, educational material, asthma knowledge, asthma control and asthma-related QOL questionnaires, and a letter with a dispensing history to give to their GP. Pharmacists were blinded to the control patients' identities for 6 months, after which time intervention patients were sent repeat questionnaires, and control patients were sent intervention packs. Asthma knowledge, asthma control and asthma-related QOL scores. Thirty-five pharmacies completed the study, providing 706 intervention and 427 control patients who were eligible to receive intervention packs. Intervention patients' asthma control and asthma-related QOL scores at 6 months were significantly higher compared to the control patients (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively) and to the intervention patients' baseline scores (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively). Symptom-related QOL was significantly higher compared to the control patients (P < 0.01) and activities-related QOL significantly improved compared to baseline (P < 0.05). No significant change was observed in asthma knowledge. The results suggest that community pharmacists are ideally placed to identify patients with suboptimal asthma management and refer such patients for a review by their GP. This type of collaborative intervention can significantly improve self-reported asthma control and asthma-related QOL in patients identified as having suboptimal management of their asthma. A larger trial is needed to confirm the effects are real and sustained.

An interactive workshop plus locally adapted guidelines can improve general practitioners asthma management and knowledge: a cluster randomised trial in the Australian setting.

BackgroundA cluster randomised trial was conducted to determine the effectiveness of locally adapted practice guidelines and education about paediatric asthma management, delivered to general practitioners (GPs) in small group interactive workshops.MethodsTwenty-nine practices were randomly allocated to one of three study arms. Australian asthma management guidelines were adapted to accommodate characteristics of the local area. GPs in the intervention arm (Group 1, n = 18 GPs) participated in a small group based education program and were provided with the adapted guidelines. One control arm (Group 2, n = 18 GPs) received only the adapted guidelines, while the other control arm (Group 3, n = 15 GPs) received an unrelated education intervention. GPs' knowledge, attitudes and management of paediatric asthma was assessed.ResultsPost intervention, intervention arm GPs were no more likely to provide a written asthma action plan, but were better able to assess the severity of asthma attack (Group 1vs Group 2 p = 0.05 and Group 1 vs Group 3 p = 0.01), better able to identify patients at high risk of severe attack (Group 1vs Group 3 p = 0.06), and tended to score higher on the asthma knowledge questionnaire (Group 1 vs Group 2 p = 0.06 and Group 1 vs Group 3 p = 0.2). Most intervention arm GPs felt more confident than control GPs to manage acute asthma attack and ongoing management of infrequent episodic asthma.ConclusionUsing interactive small group workshops to disseminate locally adapted guidelines was associated with improvement in GP's knowledge and confidence to manage asthma, but did not change GP's self-reported provision of written action plans.

Validation of an Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire for Use With Parents or Guardians of Children With Asthma

Interventions to increase asthma knowledge enable children and/or their parents to acquire skills needed for the prevention and/or appropriate management of crises. Periods of illness caused by the disease can thereby be reduced. However, no validated instrument for quantifying knowledge of asthma is available in Spanish. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate an asthma knowledge questionnaire that could be self-administered by parents and/or persons charged with caring for asthmatic children. The 17 items that make up the questionnaire were obtained on the basis of a review of the literature, focus group discussions, the professional experience of the researchers, and pilot studies. We evaluated the instrument's face, content, and concurrent validity and analyzed its factorial structure. The test-retest reliability of the questionnaire and its sensitivity to change were also assessed. A total of 120 pediatric patients with a mean (SD) age of 4.5 (3.7) years participated. Factor analysis demonstrated a probable structure of 3 factors that together explained 85% of the total variance in results. The opinion of an interdisciplinary group of experts on asthma confirmed the face validity of the instrument. The questionnaire's ability to distinguish between parents with high and low asthma knowledge demonstrated its concurrent validity. Test-retest reliability was demonstrated, as was sensitivity to change between 2 different testing moments. The asthma knowledge questionnaire developed is useful and reliable for quantifying the baseline level of asthma knowledge of parents of asthmatic children as well as to assess the efficacy of an educational intervention aiming to increase knowledge and understanding of the disease.

The Validity and Reliability of Two Asthma Knowledge Questionnaires

Background. This study aimed to develop and validate two asthma knowledge questionnaires, one for consumers (CQ) and one for health care professionals (HQ) to fill an existing gap in the literature. Methods. Following development and pilot testing, the revised CQ and HQ were administered to respiratory physicians, pharmacists and people with asthma and without asthma. Results. Both the CQ and HQ were shown to be reliable with Cronbach's alpha of 0.78 and 0.92 respectively. Both were also found to have good content, face, construct and discriminant validity. Conclusion. The CQ and HQ were shown to be simple, valid and reliable instruments for the assessment of asthma knowledge of consumers and health care professionals and to direct educational resources more appropriately. Future research will evaluate the utility of these instruments in clinical practice.

Risk factors for an intensive care unit admission in children with asthma.

An admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) with asthma is a marker of asthma severity and may be a precursor of asthma death. The aim of this study was to investigate risk factors for acute severe asthma needing an ICU admission. We hypothesized that children admitted to the ICU represent a severe phenotype with identifiable premorbid clinical features. The study was case-control in design. One hundred and forty-one children were studied. Seventy children admitted to the ICU and 71 children admitted to the general medical ward served as cases and controls, respectively. Children were aged between 1-16 years. They underwent skin prick allergy testing, and had a nasopharyngeal aspirate and serology performed to screen for respiratory pathogens. Their parents completed an asthma and allergy symptom questionnaire and the Newcastle Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire (NAKQ). On univariate analysis, an admission to the ICU was more likely in children with 1) "frequent episodic" or "persistent" background asthma; 2) three or more previous admissions for asthma; 3) one or more asthma admissions in the previous 12 months; 4) three or more presentations to the Emergency Department (ED) in the preceding 12 months; 5) three or more positive responses on skin prick allergy testing; 6) an elevated IgE level; 7) oxygen saturation on presentation < or =91%; 8) longer duration of asthma; 9) lower level of maternal education; 10) an admission during autumn; 11) three or more siblings; and 12) being prescribed antibiotics. Risk factors that remained significant on multivariate analysis were three or more presentations to the ED in the preceding 12 months (P=0.003), an elevated IgE level (P=0.01), oxygen saturation on presentation < or =91% (P=0.003), and longer asthma duration (P=0.02). ICU patients took longer to see a doctor and to commence oral steroids. No differences were found between cases and controls in the proportion taking preventer therapy (58% vs. 52%), provided with a written asthma action plan (32% vs. 25%), or in whom spirometry or peak flow was measured (28% vs. 42%). However, rates were low in both groups. Parental asthma knowledge was generally poor. This study identified risk factors for an ICU admission in children with asthma. A potentially preventable risk factor is a history of multiple ED presentations in the past year. Specialist referral of children with multiple ED presentations may improve asthma control and reduce the risk of an ICU admission. Background asthma management remains suboptimal in children needing hospitalization.

Background severity of asthma in children discharged from the emergency department.

Attendance at an Emergency Department (ED) with an acute attack of asthma may be indicative of undertreatment of persistent disease. However, many presentations are in children with infrequent episodic asthma. The aim of this study was to characterize the pattern of asthma of children discharged from ED to determine whether there was potential to improve underlying disease control. This was a cohort study. Three hundred and ten parental caretakers of 1 to 15-year-old children, attended and discharged from an ED with asthma, completed an asthma control questionnaire, an asthma knowledge questionnaire and a caregiver's quality of life questionnaire. Background severity of asthma was classified and medication history was assessed. Also included were those with their first attack of asthma. One hundred and thirty-two (43%) children had infrequent episodic asthma, 105 (34%) frequent episodic, 40 (13%) persistent asthma and 33 (11%) first attack asthma. Thirty-nine per cent of children were not receiving preventer therapy and this seemed appropriate; 14% of children with frequent episodic and persistent asthma were not receiving appropriate preventer therapy; and a further 34% had frequent symptoms despite receiving preventer therapy. We observed deficiencies in use of preventer medications, use of written asthma management plans and lack of parental knowledge in some children with established asthma who presented to an ED. There was also a large number of children who did not have frequent background symptoms or who presented with their first episode.

Relations among asthma knowledge, treatment adherence, and outcome

Background: Asthma knowledge is frequently assumed to be a prerequisite for optimal asthma treatment. However, the validity of existing asthma knowledge questionnaires has not been rigorously examined, and no contemporary measure of asthma knowledge has received widespread acceptance. Objective: To construct and examine the psychometric properties of an asthma knowledge instrument, and its association with demographic and psychosocial variables, asthma medication adherence, and treatment outcome. Methods: A 25-item Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire was developed with input from national pediatric asthma experts. Parents of 155 children with asthma completed the Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire as well as demographic, family functioning, and home environment measures. Asthma outcomes and adherence with inhaled medication was measured across 12 months. Results: Despite the many steps taken to develop a strong measure of asthma knowledge, reliability was relatively poor. There was also no association between asthma knowledge and treatment adherence or outcomes. Furthermore, asthma knowledge was not a unidimensional construct and was not a simple function of education. Conclusions: Findings from this study, in combination with previous studies of asthma knowledge questionnaires, suggest that the construction of a simple self-report asthma knowledge instrument for use as a primary outcome measure demonstrating mastery of asthma self-management skills may not be achievable. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2003;111:498-502.)

What Determines Knowledge of Asthma Among Young People and Their Families?

In this analysis, we sought to determine factors that predicted the level of asthma knowledge in a sample of adolescents with asthma and their parents. Eighty-five young people aged 10–24 years attending tertiary care asthma clinics and 46 of their parents answered validated respiratory and asthma knowledge questionnaires. Older adolescents were more knowledgeable about asthma than were younger adolescents (r=0.36, p=0.001). Young people with severe asthma (p=0.015) scored higher on the asthma knowledge questionnaire than those with mild/moderate asthma. Asthma knowledge among young people was related to that of their mothers (r=0.47, p=0.014), however, only age and the asthma knowledge of fathers significantly predicted adolescent asthma knowledge. Adolescents develop increasing autonomy for asthma self-management as they mature, but parents remain an important source of information about asthma for young people.

Primary Schoolteachers' Knowledge of Asthma: The Impact of Pharmacist Intervention

The Newcastle Asthma Knowledge questionnaire was used to determine primary schoolteachers' knowledge of asthma. The mean score achieved (20.71 ± 3.20), was representative of a reasonable degree of knowledge. However, knowledge of symptoms associated with asthma and of medications used to manage the condition was poor. Teachers who had contact with an asthmatic individual or who had received previous training on asthma had a significantly greater knowledge of asthma. An asthma training session, delivered by a pharmacist, was found to significantly improve primary schoolteachers' knowledge of the condition, however, the extent of the improvement was low.