Coping and social problem solving correlates of asthma control and quality of life

Abstract

In a sample of adults with asthma receiving care and medication in an outpatient pulmonary clinic, this study tested for statistical associations between social problem-solving styles, asthma control, and asthma-related quality of life. These variables were measured cross sectionally as a first step toward more systematic application of social problem-solving frameworks in asthma self-management training. Recruitment occurred during pulmonology clinic service hours. Forty-four adults with physician-confirmed diagnosis of asthma provided data including age, gender, height, weight, race, income, and comorbid conditions. The Asthma Control Questionnaire, the Mini Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (Short Form), and peak expiratory force measures offered multiple views of asthma health at the time of the study. Maladaptive coping (impulsive and careless problemsolving styles) based on transactional stress models of health were assessed with the Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised: Short Form. Controlling for variance associated with gender, age, and income, individuals reporting higher impulsive-careless scores exhibited significantly lower scores on asthma control (b ¼ 0.70, p ¼ 0.001, confidence interval (CI) [0.37-1.04]) and lower asthma-related quality of life (b ¼ 0.79, p ¼ 0.017,). These findings suggest that specific maladaptive problem-solving styles may uniquely contribute to asthma health burdens. Because problem-solving coping strategies are both measureable and teachable, behavioral interventions aimed at facilitating adaptive coping and problem solving could positively affect patient's asthma management and quality of life.

Asthma control among adults in Saudi Arabia

“…Depending on the culture, gender can affect health status and health outcomes by increasing exposure to health risk factors, and by limiting access to health care and to health information. 34 In KSA the proportion of female patients with uncontrolled asthma is almost 1.5 times greater compared with that of among male patients, 8 and studies in Turkey, 27 Italy, 35 and in the US, 12 show that females have poorer asthma control than males. Our results are consistent with these findings as we found that females had approximately 2 times greater odds of having uncontrolled asthma (OR=2.0; 95% CI=1.0-4.0) compared with males.…”

Coping, Problem Solving, Depression, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients Receiving Outpatient Stroke Rehabilitation

“…22 Problem solving is also related to depression and HRQOL in both population with a disease and healthy population. 23,24 Whether coping strategy, problem-solving skills, and depression are independently related to HRQOL in patients receiving outpatient rehabilitation treatment is unknown. The present study investigated these relations in patients participating in an outpatient stroke rehabilitation program.…”

Self-reported racial/ethnic discrimination and bronchodilator response in African American youth with asthma

“…This is clinically relevant as different treatments or interventions may be applied to this difficult to control group. There is evidence that adjunct socio-behavioral interventions to traditional asthma management improve outcomes [35]; however, these interventions are perceived as time and labor intensive. By identifying a risk factor profile that includes measures of racial/ethnic discriminatory experiences and inflammatory biomarkers, we may be better able to screen and identify individuals who are most susceptible to this type of psychosocial stress, and thus, more likely to benefit from such therapy.…”