Educating the parents of asthmatic children about the benefits of medication might improve asthma care in Maryland, suggest the findings of a study conducted among Maryland pediatricians by researchers from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and University of Maryland Hospital for Children.

The study will be presented at 7 p.m. Pacific time (10 p.m. EST) on Tuesday, May 2, at the annual Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in San Francisco.

Of the 100 physicians who completed the survey, 87 percent said the lack of understanding among parents and patients of the benefits of daily “asthma controller” drugs is a barrier to

improving care for children with asthma. In the same sample, 67 percent pointed out that

parents and children might not see a benefit in using daily controller medication (inhaled corticosteroids) to prevent asthma attacks when compared to more fast-acting bronchodilators, also known as rescue medications, which stop an asthma attack from progressing.

“As pediatric health care providers, we still have some work to do in relating the benefits of controller medication to our patients and their parents,” says study co-investigator Arlene Butz, Sc.D., associate professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

Emergency room physicians who treat children with acute asthma episodes also have an excellent chance to reinforce the benefits of controller medication to both children and their parents, Butz adds.