title: Asking the correct questions to assess asthma symptoms.
abstract: A national survey of 896 parents of children with asthma was performed and responses to 2 types of inquiry were compared: global assessment versus specific assessment of symptoms. Almost all parents, 860 (96%), described their child's asthma as under "good control'' when asked a global assessment question. However, 306 (34%)-when asked specific questions-actually described poor asthma control with frequent symptoms. Medicaid insurance (OR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.03, 2.44) and parental smoking (OR: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.06, 2.43) increased the likelihood that parents' responses would be at risk for misinterpretation. Increased education (OR 0.41: 95% CI: 0.18, 0.91) and English as the primary language (OR 0.39; 95% CI 0.16, 0.96) were associated with decreased likelihood of misinterpretation. Vague, global assessment questions lead to incomplete clinical information and places the patient at risk for inadequate asthma therapy. A better approach is to use specific questions to determine the frequency of daytime or nighttime symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Unit, Division of General Pediatrics, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0456, USA.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Cabana
authors.forename: Kathryn K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Slish
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nan
authors.forename: Xihong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Noreen M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001249:Asthma / Q000145:classification* / Q000188:drug therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012042:Registries; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents