Keeping Children With Asthma Out of Hospitals: Parents' and Physicians' Perspectives on How Pediatric Asthma Hospitalizations Can Be Prevented

Abstract

The proportion of asthma hospitalizations assessed as preventable varies from 15% to 54%, depending on the source. Adolescents and families who fail to contact physicians before hospitalization are at greatest risk for preventable hospitalizations. Many pediatric asthma hospitalizations might be prevented if parents and children were better educated about the child's condition, medications, the need for follow-up care, and the importance of avoiding known disease triggers.