OBJECTIVES: The last twenty years have seen increased interest in patient satisfaction in healthcare services as patients become active consumers. One of the main goals of the Expert Panel Report 3 for asthma management was meeting satisfaction requirements of asthmatic patients and their families. This study’s objective was to determine the association between parental satisfaction with medication therapy and parenting stress among parent of children diagnosed with asthma.

METHODS: A cross-sectional pre-tested and validated questionnaire using Qualtrics^® was administered at 19 asthma/pediatric clinics in Houston, Texas USA, between November 2015- June 2016, to evaluate the association of parenting stress on parental satisfaction. Data were requested on variables such as severity, type of physician (pediatrician), and socio-demographics of the parents and children. Descriptive analysis and multiple linear regression were conducted using SAS® RESULTS: A total of 262 parents completed the survey. The average age of parents was 35.1 (±8.9) and that of their asthmatic children was 6.8 (±3.3). More females (approximately 79%) participated and most participants reported being married (66.4%). Whites (34.7%) were the most common racial group. The average parental satisfaction score was 22.1 (±4.1) and for parenting stress scores was 35.9 (±11.9). Multiple linear regression analysis found a negative association between parental satisfaction and parenting stress (β= -0.11421, p<0.0001) and visiting a pediatrician (β= -1.21295, p=0.0115), holding other variables such as child’s age and gender as constant. The only positive association was found between parental satisfaction and age of the children (β=0.14830, p=0.0374), after controlling for these variables.

CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed negative associations between parental satisfaction with both parenting stress and type of physician. Diagnosing and reducing parental stress levels to improve satisfaction is a vital step because it may affect both parents and the asthmatic children adversely.