Multicenter Compliance Study of Asthma Medication for Children in Korea

Compliance is a major component of successful medical treatment. However, non-compliance remains a barrier to effective delivery of healthcare worldwide. Twenty healthcare facilities (secondary or tertiary hospitals) belonging to the Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Diseases (KAPARD) participated. Questionnaires were given to patients currently receiving treatment in the form of inhaled or oral or transdermal patch for mild to moderate asthma. A total of 1838 patients responded to the questionnaire. Mean age was 5.98 ± 3.79 years (range: 0-18 years). With help from their caregivers, the percentage of patients that answered “taking as prescribed” was 38.04% for inhalant users, 50.09% for oral medication users, and 67.42% for transdermal users. Transdermal patch users had significantly greater compliance when compared to the other two groups (p<0.001). 34.15% of inhalant users, 70.33% of oral medication users, and 93.00% of transdermal patch users felt that their medication delivery system was “Easy” or “Very easy” to use (p