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

Abstract

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.