Descriptors and Perception of Dyspnea in African-American Asthmatics

Trochtenberg, D. Scott; BeLue, Rhonda

doi:10.1080/02770900701645769

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Also, many black people do not report asthma-related nocturnal symptoms, which are particularly important in the ACT. 41,42 Income guidelines are not only reflected in the results of the study but may be driving the results. Participation in this study was restricted to persons with incomes Ͻ80% of the median for the area and stratified into two groups: (1) Ͻ 80% of area median (two-thirds of participants) and (2) Ͻ50% of area median (onethird of participants).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Homes of low-income minority families with asthmatic children have increased condition issues

Pacheco

Ciaccio²,

Nazir³

et al. 2014

allergy asthma proc

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Homes of low-income minority families with asthmatic children have increased condition issues

Pacheco

Ciaccio²,

Nazir³

et al. 2014

allergy asthma proc

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“…This corresponds with previous findings that African American patients misperceive their symptoms during asthma attacks. 25 African Americans receive less consistent care reported by national guidelines regarding inhaled corticosteroid use, asthma action plans, trigger avoidance, and generally receive less specialist care. 26 Lack of symptom awareness may contribute to suboptimal care.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Discrepancies between lung function and asthma control: Asthma perception and association with demographics and anxiety

Steele

Meuret²,

Millard³

et al. 2012

allergy asthma proc

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Understanding asthma symptom perception is necessary for reducing unnecessary costs both for asthma sufferers and society and will contribute to improving asthma management. The primary aim of this study was to develop and test a standardized method for classification of asthma perceiver categories into under-, normal, and overperceiver groups based on the comparison between self-report and lung function components of asthma control. Additionally, the degree to which demographic variables and anxiety contributed to the classification of patients into perceiver groups was examined. Patients underwent methacholine or reversibility testing to confirm asthma diagnosis. Next, participants completed lung function testing over 3 days before their next appointment. Finally, patients filled out demographic and self-report measures including the Asthma Control Test (ACT). Each self-report category of control assessed by the ACT (interference, shortness of breath, nighttime awakenings, rescue inhaler usage, and a composite total score) was compared with lung function measurements using a modified version of the asthma risk grid. Using the modified asthma risk grid to determine perceiver categorization, this sample included 14 underperceivers, 29 normal perceivers, and 36 overperceivers. A discriminant analysis was performed that indicated that a majority of underperceivers were characterized by being African American and having low asthma-specific anxiety. Normal perceivers in this sample tended to be older. Overperceivers tended to be female. Our findings encourage further research using the reported method of classifying asthma patients into perceiver categories.

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“…33 Such a score provides a multidimensional metric of breathlessness in the language they use to describe asthma, 23,24 whereas others have found variability in descriptors of symptoms and disease severity in black patients. 25 It is likely that outcome differences are due to methodologic differences, including patient variables, such as age, asthma severity, and medication usage; procedural details, including methacholine challenge during testing; and degree of structure imposed on the descriptor choices patients were allowed to make. Another factor is the willingness of patients to talk about their asthma.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Descriptors of Breathlessness in Children With Persistent Asthma

Harver

Schwartzstein

Kotses

et al. 2011

Chest

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Dyspnea, or breathlessness, is used to characterize a subjective experience of breathing discomfort that is composed of qualitatively distinct sensations that vary in intensity. 1 It is a common symptom in patients with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and a cause of morbidity in the elderly. 2 Dyspnea varies along several dimensions, including intensity and salience, and can include cognitive and emotional components. 3 As such, it is a complex sensory experience, derived from physiologic conditions that both infl uence and are infl uenced by psychologic processes and social variables. [1][2][3][4] The terms used to describe dyspnea have been developed and studied extensively in both laboratory and clinical settings. 5-9 These studies have included: asking adults to select items from standardized questionnaires; identifying, by cluster analysis, descriptor groupings (clusters) that are independent of one another; and relating clusters with physiologic elements of disease. The work has shown that descriptor clusters are fairly consistent among patients with a disease but vary between patients with different disorders. Patients with asthma, for example, are likely to endorse the questionnaire items "My chest feels tight" Background: In adult patients, the consistent use of language to describe dyspnea enhances patient-provider communication and contributes to diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. The objective of this research was to determine whether pediatric patients similarly display consistency in the language used to describe "uncomfortable awareness of breathing." Methods: One hundred children between the ages of 8 and 15 years with moderate to severe persistent asthma enrolled in an asthma education research program completed questionnaires regarding descriptors of asthma on each of two occasions. In addition to the breathlessness questionnaires, demographic information, self-reported asthma severity, ED visits, missed school days, anthropometrics, and spirometry were obtained for each participant. Results: Children were reliable in their choice of the descriptors that they applied to their breathing discomfort across two occasions, and they selected the same descriptors that were used by adults with asthma in previous studies. Children with greater self-reported asthma severity endorsed more descriptors to characterize breathing discomfort than did children with less severe asthma, but no differences were found among children based on demographic or anthropometric variables. Conclusions: Children with moderate to severe persistent asthma are reliable in their choice of descriptors of breathlessness. Knowledge of their experience of symptoms may be helpful clinically in the assessment and management of asthma.

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Descriptors and Perception of Dyspnea in African-American Asthmatics

Abstract: Objective-This study explores self-reported perception of asthma symptoms in AfricanAmericans. Methods-Qualitativemethodology was used to analyze the responses from African-Americans within focus groups from Nashville, Tennessee.

Cited by 14 publications

References 22 publications

Homes of low-income minority families with asthmatic children have increased condition issues

Homes of low-income minority families with asthmatic children have increased condition issues

Discrepancies between lung function and asthma control: Asthma perception and association with demographics and anxiety

Descriptors of Breathlessness in Children With Persistent Asthma

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