Discussions between medical providers and children/caregivers about the benefits of asthma-control medications

Objectives: To describe the content of discussions between general pediatric providers and children and their caregivers about the benefits of asthma-control medication; describe the extent to which these discussions occur; and examine factors that are associated with medication benefit discussions. Design: Cross-sectional secondary analysis of audiotaped medical visits. Setting: Five primary care pediatric clinics in North Carolina. Participants: 35 pediatric providers and 248 children with persistent asthma and their caregivers. Main outcome measures: Presence of discussion about benefits associated with asthma-control medications. Results: Providers discussed benefits associated with asthma-control medications during 56% of medical visits. Benefits were more likely to be discussed when the child was younger and when medication adherence was discussed during the visit. When providers discussed benefits of asthma-control medications, they were most likely to ask questions and make statements regarding symptom control/prevention. Conclusion: General pediatric medical providers often do not discuss the benefits of asthma-control medications. Pharmacists could fill this information gap by counseling both children and their caregivers about benefits that a child with asthma can expect as a result of treatment.