Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on asthma control among children: a qualitative study from caregivers' perspectives and experiences.
OBJECTIVES
To understand the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on asthma control in children based on caregivers' perspectives and experiences.


DESIGN
This was a qualitative study deploying face-to-face, semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis was carried out to analyse the data.


SETTING
Paediatric respiratory clinics in three tertiary hospitals.


PARTICIPANTS
16 caregivers providing unpaid asthma-related care and assistance to children under 14 years who had been diagnosed with asthma for more than 1 year and were not only treated with short-acting β2-agonists.


RESULTS
Six main themes were identified: (1) improved asthma control; (2) decreased willingness to seek medical care driven by fear; (3) increased adherence due to enhanced awareness of asthma control; (4) coping strategies for changes caused by COVID-19; (5) a new opportunity and (6) managing new challenges in asthma control.


CONCLUSIONS
The COVID-19 outbreak and the measures in response to it have had significant impacts on asthma control among children. Children with asthma are advised to continue good asthma management, take their prescribed asthma medications as normal, wash their hands regularly and wear face masks. Regularly supported self-management and remote consultations should be provided during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, supporting people financially, providing continued medical support and alleviating any fear and anxiety should be considered. We anticipate that our findings will inform health promotion interventions.
['Jia|Yuanmin|Y|0000-0003-2787-0156', 'Bao|Jingxian|J|', 'Yi|Mo|M|', 'Zhang|Zeyi|Z|', 'Wang|Jingjing|J|', 'Wang|Haixia|H|', 'Li|Yizhang|Y|', 'Chen|Ou|O|']
D001249:Asthma D000086382:COVID-19 D017028:Caregivers D002648:Child D006801:Humans D058873:Pandemics D036301:Qualitative Research D000086402:SARS-CoV-2
COVID-19 asthma health policy qualitative research