Medication use in Australian children with asthma: user's perspective

Medication use-related issues remain problematic in childhood asthma despite effective treatment strategies and public investment into improved asthma management strategies in industrialized countries. This study aimed to carry out an in-depth exploration of the views of parents/carers and children with asthma on medication use.

Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposive convenience sample of children with asthma and their parents recruited from general practices in Sydney. Interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed.

A total of 52 interviews (26 parents/carers and 26 children with asthma) were conducted. Major themes which emerged from the children's interviews included issues such as self-image, resistance to medication use, and lack of responsibility in medication taking. Parental or carer issues included lack of clear understanding of how medications worked, as well as administration difficulties, cost constraints, and beliefs about medications contrary to quality use.

This is one of the few research studies exploring the viewpoint of children with asthma about their medications in Australia. Despite investment in dissemination of professional, targeted evidence-based asthma management strategies in healthcare, there seems to be a lack of depth in terms of what parents understand about their child's asthma. Effective communication about medication usage, especially the inclusion of the child in the consultation to empower them to be involved in their own asthma care, may be the answer.