Uzma Jabeen, Fatima Zeeshan, Iqbal Bano, Attia Bari, Ahsan Waheed Rathore.
Factors Affecting Medication Adherence in Childhood Asthma and their Association with Asthma Control.
Pak Paed J May ;42(1):27-31.

Objective: To identify the risk factors that influence patient adherence to asthma treatment and association of these risk factors with asthma control. Study design: A descriptive observational study. Place and Duration of Study: The department of Pediatric Medicine of The Children?s Hospital and institute of Child Health, Lahore from January 2016 to December 2016. Methodology: Total 300 children diagnosed clinically with persistent asthma from children hospital were included in this study. The medication adherence in these children was assessed by using Morisky Medication Adherence Assessment questionnaire (MMAS).Various risk factors affecting medication adherence in these children were assessed. Asthma control in these children was assessed according to Gina guidelines. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: Out of 300 children 192(64%) were male and 108(36%) were female. Mean age was 9+3.4 years. Total 223(74.3%) belong to poor socioeconomic status, 70(23.3%) to middle class and 7(2.3%) to upper class. Regarding the asthma control 66(21.0%) were having well controlled asthma, 69(23%) partially controlled and 168(56%) uncontrolled asthma. Low adherence i.e (MMAS score<6) was found in 143(47.7%), medium adherence (MMAS score 6-8) in 65(21.7%), and high adherence (MMAS score=8) in 92(30.7%) of children. Adherence level was significantly associated with asthma control i.e(p=0.05). Risk factors like poor socioeconomic status, poor understanding of treatment regimen, lack of family support , fear about side effects of drugs and CAM usage found to have a significant impact on adherence level i.e p=0.03, 0.012, 0.03,0.019 and 0.01 respectively. Conclusion: Adherence with medication regimen is necessary for obtaining maximum therapeutic benefits in children with asthma.

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