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ANALYSIS OF KNOWLEDGE OF HEALTH LITERACY IN CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA

1Dr. Abdul Wahid Ayub, 2Dr. Mahrukh Tabassam, 3Dr. Aqsa Ibrahim

Introduction: Almost 10% of children under the age of 18 years have asthma,1 with increasing disease prevalence and morbidity disproportionately affecting minority children in urban areas and children in lower socioeconomic groups. Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in the pediatric population. Aims and objectives: The basic aim of the study is to find the knowledge related to health literacy in children with asthma in a local population of Pakistan. Methodology of the study: This study was conducted at DHQ Hospital, Bhakkar during 2018. Children aged 6–12 years with physician-diagnosed asthma, were eligible for this study. Children were interviewed in the clinic immediately after the healthcare visit. Children completed spirometry tests the same day. Parents provided demographic information and completed the Test for Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA), the Asthma Knowledge Quiz (AKQ), and the Juniper Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ). Results: The scores were moderately correlated (ρ=0.334, p<0.0001). Furthermore, increased parent asthma knowledge is associated with better child asthma control. As the AKQ score increased by one point, ACQ scores decreased by 0.091 (p<0.05). The multiple regression results compare scores on the TOFHLA, ACQ, and AKQ with demographics and asthma severity. TOFHLA scores were higher for whites (p=0.003), those with higher education (p<0.0001), and those with All Kids insurance (compared to private insurance; p=0.022). Conclusion: It is concluded that HL is a critical requirement for health care providers to achieve improved children health outcomes and is crucial to health care practices supporting asthma care, not only for parents or caregivers but also for children.

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