OBJECTIVES : Taking care of children with asthma, especially those who cannot take medications properly, can add additional stress to parents. Our objective was to find which asthma medications pediatric asthma patients were taking and understand its association with parenting stress.

METHODS : A cross-sectional survey was conducted among parents of asthmatic children aged 2–12 years in Houston, Texas. The survey evaluated parenting stress, number and type of asthma medications being taken by their children, parents’ perceived asthma severity, health literacy, relationship with child’s physician, family support with children, and socio-demographic characteristics of both parents and children. Descriptive and regression analyses were performed using SAS^® 9.4.

RESULTS : A total of 259 completed surveys were included in the final analyses. Mean ages of parents and their asthmatic children were 35 (±8.8) and 6 (±3.3) years, with majority of participating parents being female (n=204, 79%). Mean parenting stress score was 35 (±11.9) and mean number of medications being taken was 2 (±1.1). Majority of children were taking rescue medications (n=227, 88%), followed by inhaled corticosteroids (n=89, 34%) and leukotriene modifiers (n=69, 27%). Type of asthma medications used was not related to parenting stress. Univariate analyses suggested a significant association between number of medications and parenting stress (p<0.05). However, this association became non-significant after controlling for other covariates. Multiple regression indicated that having a supportive relationship with child’s physician (β=-1.3, p<0.01), good health literacy (β=5.6, p<0.01), family support to child care (β=5.2, p<0.01), and having governmental insurance versus no insurance (β=-7.6, p<0.05) were associated with lower parenting stress.

CONCLUSIONS

: Our findings suggest that number and type of asthma medications being taken by pediatric patients were not aggravating parenting stressors. Enhancing the relationship between parents and providers, help parents understand medication use instructions, and securing insurance coverage with child care supportive services may be conducive to relieving parenting stress.