Acute cough in Italian children: parents' beliefs, approach to treatment, and the family impact.
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ABSTRACT: 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 uniform by 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-of-pocket for an "effective remedy" against cough is high. The interest for alternative treatments is not negligible in these circumstances.
SUBMITTER: Dal Negro RW
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6448239 | biostudies-literature | 2019
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Acute cough in Italian children: parents' beliefs, approach to treatment, and the family impact.
Dal Negro Roberto W RW Zanasi Alessandro A Turco Paola P Povero Massimiliano M
Multidisciplinary respiratory medicine 20190404
<h4>Background</h4>Acute cough is the most common symptom among children in primary care, but the impact of cough episodes was never investigated in Italian families.<h4>Methods</h4>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.<h4>Results</h4>The sample (604 calls) was uniform by geographical distribution, and by children age and gender. Mean cough episod ...[more]
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