Stress in mothers and caregivers of children and adolescents with asthma: study of the frequency of stress and stressors

The objective of this study was to describe the frequency of stress and identify stressors in mothers and caregivers of children and adolescents with asthma attended in a pneumology public pediatric outpatient clinic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Observational, descriptive, quantitative and qualitative study, with 53 mothers and caregivers of children/adolescents diagnosed with asthma, aged 2 to 12 years. The results demonstrated the presence of stress levels in 86.8% of participants. There was association between stress and the time since asthma onset, time the child/adolescent had been using medication, number of stressors regarding the childhood asthma and the education level of the mother/caregiver. The study identified family, social, economic and emotional factors as stressors, including the care of children with asthma. Identifying stressors related to asthma is an important step towards understanding the disease, treating the condition in children and, consequently, dealing with stress management.