CAREGIVER?S COMPLIANCE WITH PRESCRIBED MANAGEMENT REGIMEN FOR YOUNG CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA.

Asthma is the most common childhood chronic disease in the US, affecting an estimated 4.8 million children under the age of 18 years. Lack of compliance with the National Education Asthma Prevention Program (NEAPP) guidelines contributes to asthma morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to assess caregiver compliance with the NEAPP Guidelines. The research question guiding the researchers was: What are the patterns of medication compliance among families with young children with asthma. Ninety-two children (1-6 yrs.) with asthma and their primary caregivers were recruited from an inner-city hospital. Children?s mean age was 3.9 years, 79% had moderate persistent or more severe asthma (based on physician assessment and medication regimen); mean caregiver age was 31 years, 35% of the mothers bore their first child < 17 yrs.; 90% are on Medicaid and 99% are African-American. Asking how often the child received daily medications exactly as prescribed within the last week assessed self-reported medication adherence. Forty-two (46%) children followed the medication regimen as ordered. Forty-six (50%) children were not being medicated as prescribed (or under-medicated) and 4 (4%) were given more medications than ordered (or over-medicated). Twenty-six (28%) children were given medications in addition to the ones prescribed at the time of the assessment. The findings suggest the importance of generating clearly outlined medication regimens. Many children were over medicated while others were under medicated. Moreover, some children were not medicated at all according to the prescribed plan but were given other non-prescribed medications for asthma symptom relief and control. Additional research is needed to clarify reasons why caregivers do not follow medication adherence plans in the pediatric asthma population to optimize medical management, particularly in the at-risk ethnic minority populations. To improve compliance with NEAPP guidelines members of the healthcare team need to review family?s medication regimens and reinforce the need to use preventive medicines at every healthcare visit.