Title : Assessment of asthma disease control, severity, and quality of life among pediatric asthma in the gaza strip in palestine
Abstract:
Introduction: Asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory illnesses among children and adolescents. Asthma is globally recognized as the 14th most prevalent handicap condition, affecting around 14% of children. Evaluating quality of life, severity, and asthma control is crucial to determining the impact of the illnesses, gaining a new understanding of the influence of risk variables, and serving as an essential instrument in the public health field for monitoring guidelines needs. This study aimed to measure the asthma disease control, severity, and quality of life among childhood asthma in the Gaza Strip in Palestine.
Method: This research is a descriptive, cross-sectional, and analytical investigation conducted on children who have asthma between ages 4 to 14 years from three prominent governmental hospitals situated in North, Middle Zone, and South Gaza between September and October 2023 at the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The sample size was calculated through an online website, and the authors used a simple random sampling method to recruit 200 asthma children through the computerized system. Data was collected using a self-administered survey with four parts: demographic factors and clinical information, the Asthma Control Test (ACT), the Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life (PAQLQ), and the asthma severity. The statistical analysis was conducted using the SPSS (version 25; Chicago, IL, USA).
Results: This study involved 182 children diagnosed with asthma aged 4 to 14 years. The response rate was 91%, and the participants had a median age of 8, with an interquartile range (IQR) of 6-11. Additionally, 104 individuals, accounting for 57.1% of the total, were male. The prevalence of uncontrolled asthma among the participants was 71.9%. Of them, 48.2% had mild asthma, 45.3% had moderate asthma, and 6.6% had severe asthma. There was a strong relationship between the educational attainment of mothers as well as fathers (p < 0.04) (p <0.05), who were hospitalized at least twice in the last year due to asthma, and children in the uncontrolled asthma group (p< 0.001). Additionally, uncontrolled asthma was significantly associated with school absenteeism (p< 0.001). Uncontrolled asthma was associated with aged 7-10 years, children with divorced parents had higher odds, family members aged 4-6 were 64% lower than in family members aged 1-3, Children with moderate asthma severity, and using medication.
Conclusions: The current study's findings indicated that asthma children's poor quality of life was connected with uncontrolled asthma, severity, and patients visiting the emergency department in the past month. These aspects must be considered when developing a comprehensive care plan to improve one's quality of life. The most important recommendations in this article suggest that those responsible for formulating healthcare policy should concentrate on developing educational courses and complete care programs specifically customized for pediatric asthma with caregivers.
Audience Take Away Notes:
- The study demonstrates a subpar Quality of Life (QoL) among patients with asthma, highlighting the necessity for focused therapy.
- Significant risk indicators for lower quality of life include individuals with uncontrolled asthma, increased illness severity, and a history of hospitalization.
- The significance of targeting particular subcategories, such as individuals with uncontrolled asthma and greater severity, is to enhance the overall quality of life.
- It is necessary to carefully evaluate and address the needs of children and adolescents with asthma to create a comprehensive care plan for them.
