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Parental views on children admitted to hospital with acute asthma
1Department of Paediatrics, Christchurch School of Medicine, New Zealand.
Insights
Parents found hospital admissions for childhood asthma beneficial, with most feeling care and discharge timing were appropriate. Many gained knowledge, indicating a shift towards hospital-based management for pediatric asthma.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Healthcare Management
- Patient Experience
Background:
- Acute asthma admissions in children are common.
- Understanding parental expectations is crucial for effective care.
- The role of hospitals in managing childhood asthma is evolving.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the reasons for hospital admission in pediatric asthma cases.
- To assess parental expectations and perceptions of hospital care.
- To evaluate the hospital's response to parental needs during treatment.
Main Methods:
- A structured questionnaire was used for 127 parents of children with mild to moderate asthma.
- Follow-up information was collected from 102 parents post-discharge.
- Data focused on hospital admission background and in-hospital experiences.
Main Results:
- Half of the children were referred by parents.
- Most parents deemed hospital admission and discharge timing appropriate.
- Parental expectations for information and education on asthma management were partially unmet.
Conclusions:
- Parental satisfaction with acute asthma care suggests a positive hospital experience.
- Findings support the trend of shifting emergency asthma care to hospitals.
- Parents perceive hospitals as playing a significant role in long-term asthma management.
Objective:
To gather information on the background to the hospital admission of children with an attack of acute asthma, on the parents' expectations and perceptions of the hospital's role in treatment and the hospital's response to these expectations.
Method:
A structured questionnaire was administered to the parents of 127 children admitted to hospital with an acute attack of asthma of a mild or moderate severity. At 10-15 days after discharge, further information was obtained from 102 of the parents regarding their experiences of the hospital stay.
Results:
Half of the children were self (parental) referred to hospital. The modal time spent in hospital was one night. Overwhelmingly, the parents felt that the admission had been justified and that discharge time was appropriate. Parental expectations of information and education about the condition differed slightly from the staff as judged by the information given to them. Many parents learned something about asthma and the majority felt that the brief admission was not too disruptive. The reported perceptions and the actions of the parents are in keeping with the hypothesis that the emergency care of childhood asthmatics is moving from the community to the hospital, and that many see a role for the latter in the long-term management of the condition.