Asthma-Related Knowledge and Practices among Mothers of Asthmatic Children: A Latent Class Analysis

Salvatore Fasola, Velia Malizia, Giuliana Ferrante, Amelia Licari, Laura Montalbano, Giovanna Cilluffo and Stefania La Grutta
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Salvatore Fasola: Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council, 90146 Palermo, Italy
Velia Malizia: Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council, 90146 Palermo, Italy
Giuliana Ferrante: Department of Surgical Sciences, Dentistry, Gynecology and Pediatrics, Pediatric Division, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
Amelia Licari: Department of Pediatrics, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Laura Montalbano: Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council, 90146 Palermo, Italy
Giovanna Cilluffo: Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, 90123 Palermo, Italy
Stefania La Grutta: Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council, 90146 Palermo, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: Mothers’ knowledge about childhood asthma influences management practices and disease control, but validating knowledge/practice questionnaires is difficult due to the lack of a gold standard. We hypothesized that Latent Class Analysis (LCA) could help identify underlying mother profiles with similar knowledge/practices. A total of 438 mothers of asthmatic children answered a knowledge/practice questionnaire. Using answers to the knowledge/practice questionnaire as manifest variables, LCA identified two classes: Class 1, “poor knowledge” (33%); Class 2, “good knowledge” (67%). Classification accuracy was 0.96. Mothers in Class 2 were more likely to be aware of asthma-worsening factors and indicators of attacks. Mothers in Class 1 were more likely to prevent exposure to tobacco smoke (91.1% vs. 78.8%, p = 0.005). For attacks, mothers in Class 2 were more likely to go to the emergency department and follow the asthma action plan. Mothers in Class 2 more frequently had a high education level (79.5% vs. 65.2%, p = 0.004). Children in Class 2 more frequently had fully controlled asthma (36.7% vs. 25.9%, p = 0.015) and hospitalizations for attacks in the previous 12 months (24.2% vs. 10.7%, p = 0.003). LCA can help discover underlying mother profiles and plan targeted educational interventions.

Keywords: asthma; children; knowledge; latent profiles; disease management; mothers; practices (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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