A comparison, by quantitative and qualitative methods, between the self-management behaviors of parents with asthmatic children in two hospitals

This study compared the self-management behaviors of parents with asthmatic children staying in two hospitals and explored barriers to self-management behaviors by interviewing. 227 parents were recruited for quantitative analysis by completing a self-report structured questionnaire, 94 of these parents were from the Taipei area and 133 were from the Taoyuan area. Sixteen parents were interviewed from this population. The results indicated that the parents in the Taoyuan area had younger age, lower socioeconomic status (SES), and higher exercise limitations for children. Their knowledge, enabling factors, and self-management behaviors were also lower than their counterparts in the Taipei area. The determining factors of self-management behaviors were socioeconomic status, self-efficacy, sources of education, and perceived effectiveness (Adjusted R² =.593) in 227 parents. Six major themes about the influencing factors of self-management were deduced from the interview data: lack of understanding and dislike of the asthma label, less self-perceived severity, lack of understanding about asthma medication, lack of confidence in environmental controls, financial burden of anti-mite products, and doubt about effectiveness. Three major barriers to self-management behaviors of parents in the Taoyuan area were inconsistent use of alternative treatments, over dependence on medical service, and lack of use of peak flow meter. Parents with asthmatic children living in the Taoyuan area had poorer self-management behaviors than those in the Taipei area, and SES was one of the determining factors. The health beliefs of Taoyuan parents included many misconceptions. Conducting the educational needs assessment through quantitative and qualitative methods could provide proficiency information for designing educational content approprite to specific populations.