Influencia del asma bronquial en el ausentismo escolar en niños de 5-12 años atendidos en la clínica de especialidades médicas de Bayamo / Influence of bronchial asthma in the absenteeism in children of 5-12 years attended in the Specialty clinic in Bayamo

Introducción: la importancia del asma en la infancia como problema sanitario no radica sólo en su mortalidad ni en la frecuencia de los ingresos hospitalarios. Un aspecto fundamental del asma reside en su carácter de enfermedad crónica que afecta a la calidad de vida y al desempeño social, educativo y laboral del niño y de su familia, incrementando el porcentaje de ausentismo escolar. Objetivo: caracterizar la influencia del asma bronquial en el ausentismo escolar en niños de 5 a 12 años atendidos en la clínica de especialidades Médicas de Bayamo, durante el periodo de enero a diciembre del 2011. Métodos: se realizó un estudio descriptivo de corte transversal en niños asmáticos atendidos en la clínica de especialidades médicas de Bayamo, durante el periodo de enero a diciembre del 2011, el universo estuvo constituido por 122 niños comprendidos en las edades de 5-12 años, de los cuales se seleccionó una muestra que estuvo conformada por los 51 niños asmáticos correspondientes las edades definidas para el estudio. Resultados: el grupo de edades de 5 a 8 años fue el más afectado con un 64,8 por ciento, predominando el sexo masculino, los principales factores de riesgos fueron la contaminación ambiental, los ácaros del polvo doméstico, y los cambios de temperatura, solo el 21,8 por ciento, de los niños que realizaron tratamiento intercrisis tuvieron ausentismo escolar mientras que los que no realizaron el tratamiento intercrisis presentaron un 100 por ciento de inasistencia escolar, los meses más afectados fueron diciembre y enero. Conclusiones: el asma bronquial constituye un serio problema de salud que repercute en el ámbito social por el ausentismo escolar que ocasiona, siendo de primordial importancia la atención de estos niños en los servicios de alergología al constatar un mayor perfil de seguridad en los tratamientos intercrisis indicados, con mejoramiento de la calidad de vida de estos pacientes y disminución del ausentismo por esta causa(AU)

Introduction: the importance of asthma in children like a sanitary problem not only lies in its mortality or in the frequency of the hospitalizations. A main sign of asthma lies in its character of chronic illness that affects the life quality and the social, educational and labour fulfilment of the children and their family, increasing the percentage of absenteeism. Objective: to characterize the influence of the bronchial asthma in the absenteeism in children of 5 to 12 years attended in the Medical specialty clinic in Bayamo, during the period of January to December of the 2011. Methods: it was performed a descriptive and transversal study in asthmatic children attended in the medical specialty clinic in Bayamo, during the period of January to December of the 2011, the universe was constituted by 122 children between the ages of 5-12 years, selecting a sample that was made by the 51 asthmatic children belonging to the ages for the study. Results: the group of ages of 5 to 8 years was the most affected with 64,8 percent, prevailing the male sex, the main risk factors were the environmental pollution, the acarids of the domestic dust, and the changes of temperature, only the 21,8 percent, of the children with inter-crisis treatment had absenteeism school whereas those that did not realize the inter-crisis treatment presented 100 percent of absenteeism, the most affected months were December and January. Conclusions: the bronchial asthma constitutes a serious health problem that has an impact in the social field for the absenteeism, being of paramount importance the attention of these children in the services of allergy when ascertaining a greater profile of security in the inter- crisis treatments indicated, with an improvement of the quality of life of these patients and the decrease of the absenteeism for this cause(EU)

[Assessing the impact of an educational program in some emotional factors of asthmatic children and their parents]. / Evaluación del impacto de un programa educativo en algunos factores emocionales de niños asmáticos y sus padres.

OBJECTIVE: Asthma is a health problem both in Cuba and throughout the world. Emotional factors play an important role in triggering asthma attacks and in worsening the disorder. The impact of an educational program was evaluated, with regards to emotional factors and the attitude of asthmatic children, adolescents and their parents, for achieving better control of their disease. METHOD: a prospective intervention longitudinal study was conducted at the Juan Manuel Marquez Pediatric Hospital which grouped all participants who attended the last two meetings of the School for Asthmatic Children, Adolescents and their Parents. Data was collected from the medical records of patients and a validated questionnaire was applied at the beginning of the educational program and six month later. RESULTS: The study showed that at the end of the educational program, 78.9% of the patients were classified as intermittent asthmatics. There was also a significant reduction of the emotional factors during exacerbations, with a relative change of 53.9%. Limitation for participating in daily activities was 45.4% and parents' negative attitudes totaled 44.3%. CONCLUSIONS: As a result of the educational intervention, both patients and parents were able to correct their way of handling emotions and attitudes related with asthma, with the subsequent health improvement and a better control of the disease.