Sociodemographic differences in asthma self-management knowledge of parents seeking asthma care for their children in pediatric emergency departments

To effectively support asthma self-management among children most at risk for poor outcomes, it is important to examine potential disparities in parents' asthma-related knowledge. This study draws on baseline data collected from a randomized controlled trial to analyze how knowledge of asthma self-management varies by sociodemographic characteristics in a racially and economically diverse sample of Medicaid-insured children seeking emergency asthma care (N=221). Multivariable linear regression revealed that parent race/ethnicity, preferred language, and education were independently associated with scores on the Asthma Self Management Knowledge Questionnaire, and there was a significant interaction between parent race/ethnicity and education. In analyses stratified by parent education level, Latinx race/ethnicity was associated with lower-self-management knowledge among parents with higher education level, but not among those with a lower level of education. Our findings call for further research to understand and address the unique barriers to improving asthma self-management knowledge among Latinx parents and parents with limited English proficiency. (author abstract)