Introduction

Pediatric asthma guidelines recommend giving asthma action plans to parents. However, its impact on reducing asthma complications is still controversial.

Our study aimed to assess the impact of providing a written asthma action plan on disease control in asthmatic children.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study including asthmatic children followed in our department between January 2018 and June 2022. A written asthma action plan (WAAP) was explained and given to all children?s parents at diagnosis. Parents were contacted in January 2023 and asked about the WAAP and asthma control.

Results

We collected 101 children. The mean age was 7.2 years ± 2.9 [3-14 years] with a male predominance (a gender ratio of 1.3). Most parents confirmed receiving a WAAP when asthma was diagnosed (74%). Among them, only 52 still have it (64%), and 35% reported knowing the WAAP instructions by heart. Forty-five parents said that WAAP helped manage asthma symptoms (60%). Thirty-one parents used the WAAP during respiratory infections (41%). Twenty parents checked the WAAP when giving asthma controller treatment to their children(27%). Lower literacy was associated with WAAP loss in our study (p=0.003). Using the WAAP was associated with better asthma control test (p<0.001), better treatment adherence (p=0.01), fewer school missing days (p=0.006) and less severe exacerbation rate (p=0.04).

Conclusion

A written asthma action plan is a simplified, valuable tool that helps to improve parental self-efficacy in managing pediatric asthma, leading to fewer symptoms and exacerbations. Lower literacy can negatively impact the effectiveness of this tool.