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Table 1 21 item Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire: factor analysis and reliability

From: The presentation of a short adapted questionnaire to measure asthma knowledge of parents

Items

Factor Ib

Factor IIb

1. Inhaler use can lead to dependence or addiction.a

X

 

2. Inhalers can have an affect on the heart or damage it.a

X

 

3. It’s not good for children to use the inhaler for too long.a

X

 

4. After a child’s asthma attack, once the coughing is over, use of the inhaler and medications should stop.

  

5. Children with asthma should use asthma medications only when they have symptoms (coughing, congestion, or wheezing).a

X

 

6. It’s better to use inhalers directly, without a holding chamber, so the medication can go more directly to the lungs.a

X

 

7. The main cause of asthma is airway inflammation.

  

8. Parents should ask a doctor to tell the school that an asthmatic child shouldn’t exercise or participate in physical education classes.a

 

X

9. Children who have asthma shouldn’t participate in sports that make them run too much.a

 

X

10. When a child has an asthma attack it’s best to go to the emergency room even if symptoms are mild.a

X

 

11. Asthma attacks can be prevented if medications are taken even when there are no symptoms—between attacks.

  

12. Flu infections are the main causes or triggers of asthma attacks.

  

13. It’s best not to smoke or let anyone else smoke near a child who has asthma.

  

14. If the parents of a child with asthma smoke outside the house, it won’t affect the child.

  

15. If an asthmatic child gets the flu, you should apply the inhalers even if there’s no coughing or wheezing.

  

16. Asthmatic children might have attacks that are severe enough to require hospitalization in an intensive care unit or they might even die from an attack.

  

17. Some medications for asthma don’t work unless they’re administered every day.a

X

 

18. With preventer medications, it does not matter if some doses are missed or if you go on and off them.a

X

 

19. You should use ‘preventer medication’ when you have an asthma attack.

  

20. Parents should give ‘reliever medication’ to a child as soon as they recognize the first sign of asthma.

  

21. Blue puffer (Ventolin), Brown puffer (Flixotide), and Green puffer (Serevent) are called ‘preventer medications’, so they should be used everyday although you are well.

  
  1. aQuestions of the short form 10-item-questionnaire
  2. bFactor I indicates the use and working mechanism of inhalators and asthma medication with an individual Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.67. Factor II indicates sports and asthma with an individual Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.75