New measure of parental asthma management for school-age children

Abstract

A new parent-completed questionnaire to measure parental asthma management was developed. The new questionnaire takes a parental perspective, with content of items and scoring focusing on all behaviors considered important by parents and not just those considered appropriate by clinicians. Parents of 101 school-age children with a previous hospital admission with asthma completed the questionnaire during home visits. The questionnaire was based on five asthma scenarios. Parents were asked to indicate on a 6-point Likert scale how likely they would be to carry out a series of behaviors if the situations occurred. Two methods of scoring were used: scenario-based scoring, and factor-based scoring. Scenario-based subscale scores suggested that parent's level of activity was consistent across different situations. Factor analysis showed that the questionnaire had three dominant factors. The medical assessment subscale describes parent's level of activity in terms of seeking medical care, the external advice subscale describes parent's level of activity in terms of seeking assistance from knowledgeable others, and the home management subscale describes parents' approaches to monitoring and treating children at home. Alpha coefficients for scenario-based and factor-based subscales indicated good internal reliability (0.65-0.84 and 0.81-0.91, respectively). Test-retest reliability, 4 weeks apart, was also adequate (correlation coefficients of 0.75-0.87). This exploratory study describes the development of a new questionnaire, the Asthma Management Questionnaire (AMQ). The questionnaire has a unique parent focus, consistent with contemporary notions of patient-centered chronic-disease management.