Allergies

2011-2013

Using parental perceptions of childhood allergic rhinitis to inform primary care management

July 1, 2014

Garbutt JM, Sterkel R, Mullen KB, Conlon B, Leege E, Bloomberg G, Strunk RC. Using parental perceptions of childhood allergic rhinitis to inform primary care management. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2014 Jul;53(8):758-63. doi: 10.1177/0009922814533590. Epub 2014 May 6. PMID: 24803628; PMCID: PMC4222999.

Objective

To describe parents’ experience with their child’s allergic rhinitis (AR) to inform management by the primary care provider (PCP).

Study Design

Two hundred parents with a child 7 to 15 years old with AR symptoms within the past 12-months completed a paper survey.

Results

The child’s AR was identified as a significant problem in spring (89.3%), fall (63.4%), summer (50.3%) and winter (21.4%); 51.3% had persistent disease. AR symptoms most commonly interfered with the child’s outdoor activities and sleeping, and frequently bothered the parent and other family members. Most parents (88.3%) wanted to know what their child was allergic to and had many concerns about treatment options. 62.9% had sought AR care from the PCP in the past 12 months.

Conclusions

Many families experience significant morbidity from their child’s AR and turn to their PCP for help. We identified opportunities for the PCP to reduce AR morbidity.