Objective: To identify the factors of family management affecting asthma control status in school-age children with asthma in China.
Method: The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 139 children with asthma and their parents. The age range of the children was 7 to 14 years of age (Mage = 9.85; 76.26% boys). Eight dimensions (Children Identity, View of Condition, Management Mindset, Parental Mutuality, Parenting Philosophy, Management Approach, Family Focus, Future Expectation) of the Family Management Scale for Children with Asthma (FMSCA) were used as factors of family management. The Asthma Control Test (ACT) and the Children Asthma Control Test (C-ACT) were used to measure the asthma control status of children. A parental questionnaire was used to collect information regarding demographic data of familial socioeconomic status, general data about the child, and medical services status (Follow-Up Plan, received manual of asthma education, attended a lecture on asthma) received from medical institutions. A multivariate ordinal logistic regression model was performed.
Results: Factors significantly associated with asthma control were "Follow-Up Plan" (OR, 2.004; 95% CI, 1.009-3.981), "Attended a Lecture on asthma" (OR, 2.586; 95% CI, 1.103-6.066) and two dimensions of the FMSCA, "Children Identity" (OR = 1.133; 95% CI, 1.024-1.254) and "Family Focus" (OR = 1.114; 95% CI, 1.007-1.232).
Conclusion: This study shows that asthma control status of school-age children in China is related to the parents' views of their child as having a "normal condition" and the parents' satisfaction with the balance between asthma related management and other aspects of family life.
Keywords: Asthma control; children; family management; ordinal logistic regression.