Open AccessAcute cough in Italian children: parents’ beliefs, approach to treatment, and the family impact
Author(s) -
Roberto W. Dal Negro,
Alessandro Zanasi,
Paola Turco,
Massimiliano Povero
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
multidisciplinary respiratory medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.72
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 2049-6958
pISSN - 1828-695X
DOI - 10.4081/mrm.2019.18
Subject(s) - medicine , medical prescription , absenteeism , pediatrics , population , family medicine , demography , environmental health , management , sociology , economics , pharmacology
Background: Acute cough is the most common symptom among children in primary care, but the impact of cough episodes was never investigated in Italian families. Methods: A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted on a representative sample of Italian families, randomly selected from general population; a specific and validated questionnaire was used. Results: The sample (604 calls) was uniformby geographical distribution, and by children age and gender. Mean cough episode was 3.1/year, they were short lasting (only 4.7% > 2 weeks). Independent predictors of children cough episodes were parents’ active smoking habit and work (p € 30 in 18.4% of cases). Conclusions: Parents’ actions against cough episodes were variable, depending on their beliefs, smoking habit, and occupational status. The parents’ perceived efficacy of usual prescriptions is poor, and their willingness to pay out-ofpocket for an “effective remedy” against cough is high. The interest for alternative treatments is not negligible in these circumstances.