The multiple meanings of "wheezing": a questionnaire survey in Portuguese for parents and health professionals

BMC Pediatrics

Research Article

Cláudia Calado¹  Cristina Bastardo²  Ricardo M Fernandes²  Brígida Robalo²  Joana Figueira²  Ana Saianda²  Teresa Bandeira³  Susana Medeiros⁴  Rui Rodrigues⁵ 

[1] Department of Pediatrics, Hospital de Faro, Faro, Portugal;Department of Pediatrics, Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte EPE, Lisboa, Portugal;Department of Pediatrics, Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte EPE, Lisboa, Portugal;Núcleo de Estudos da Função Respiratória, Sono e Ventilação, Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte EPE, Lisboa, Portugal;Joaquim Paulino Primary Care Center, Rio de Mouro, Portugal;Seixal Primary Care Center, Seixal, Portugal;

关键词: Health Care Professional;    Respiratory Symptom;    Parental Perception;    Respiratory Sound;    Child Visit;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2431-11-112

 received in 2011-02-04, accepted in 2011-12-12,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundMost epidemiological studies on pediatric asthma rely on the report of "wheezing" in questionnaires. Our aim was to investigate the understanding of this term by parents and health professionals.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was carried out in hospital and community settings within the south of Portugal. Parents or caregivers self-completed a written questionnaire with information on social characteristics and respiratory history. Multiple choice questions assessed their understanding of "wheezing". Health professionals (physicians, nurses and physiotherapists) were given an adapted version. We used bivariate analysis and multivariate models to study associations between definitions of "wheezing" and participants' characteristics.ResultsQuestionnaires from 425 parents and 299 health professionals were included. The term "wheezing" was not recognized by 34% of parents, more frequently those who were younger (OR 0.4 per 10-year increment, 95% CI 0.3-0.7), had lower education (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.5-7.4), and whose children had no history of respiratory disease (OR 4.6, 95% CI 2.5-8.7) (all ORs adjusted). 31% of parents familiar with "wheezing" either did not identify it as a sound, or did not locate it to the chest, while tactile (40%) and visual (34%) cues to identify "wheezing" were frequently used. Nurses reported using visual stimuli and overall assessments more often than physicians (p < 0.01). The geographical location was independently associated with how parents recognized and described "wheezing".ConclusionsDifferent meanings for "wheezing" are recognized in Portuguese language and may be influenced by education, respiratory history and regional terminology. These findings are likely applicable to other non-English languages, and suggest the need for more accurate questionnaires and additional objective measurement instruments to study the epidemiology of wheezing disorders.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Fernandes et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011