Effect of Language on Parental Understanding About Asthma in Hispanic Children

Abstract

To assess the effect of language on the level of understanding about asthma in parents of lower income, Hispanic children with asthma, 75 parents were interviewed and given an asthma knowledge assessment in either English or Spanish. Forty-eight of the parents were primarily Spanish speaking, and 27 were English speaking. Eighty-one percent of the Spanish-speaking parents had an eighth grade education or less as compared to 3.7% of the English-speaking group (p < 0.001). Twenty-six of forty-eight (54%) of the Spanish-speaking group responded that they took their child to the physician only when sick or wheezing, as compared to 7 of 27 (25.9%) of the English-speaking group (p < 0.03).

The English-speaking group scored higher on the knowledge assessment than the Spanishspeaking parents (p = 0.002). The Spanish-speaking group was significantly more likely to believe that asthma is contagious, that large tonsils cause asthma, that eating fast and fever can cause wheezing, and that antibiotics can prevent wheezing. These preliminary data suggest that low income, Hispanic parents who speak only Spanish have significantly more misconceptions about asthma than have English-speaking parents. These parents also have lower educational backgrounds. The misconceptions about asthma may adversely affect their child's care. Educational programs for these patients and their families are needed and should be designed to reflect the level of education of the parents.