Objective: To assess whether poor parental knowledge about asthma was a risk factor for readmission of their children to hospital.
Methodology: Parents of children who were admitted to the paediatric facility at Newcastle Mater and John Hunter Hospitals were administered a previously validated asthma knowledge questionnaire with a maximum possible score of 31.
Results: The mean parental knowledge scores for three groups of children were determined: those with a previous diagnosis of asthma being readmitted to hospital (170 children, mean score 18.3); those with a previous diagnosis of asthma being admitted for the first time (114 children, mean score 17.2); and children being admitted with their first attack of asthma (65 children, mean score 15.6). There was a significant difference in parental asthma knowledge between the first and third group (P < 0.001) but not between the first and second group. A linear regression model with knowledge score as an outcome found that increased knowledge was associated with previously diagnosed asthma, higher parental occupation and no smoker in the home.
Conclusions: Knowledge was poor in all groups. Readmission rate was related to the severity of the child's asthma.