Abstract
Introduction: Self- efficacy i.e. confidence in ability to handle challenges in everyday life could influence how individuals suffering from long-term disease such as asthma manage the disease, the medication treatment and symptoms, which in turn could influence both disease progression and health-related quality of life (HRQL).
Aim: to explore the function of concerns with asthma medication and asthma control as mediators between self-efficacy and HRQL.
Method: Adult asthmatics (n=479) between 19 and 78 years selected from West Sweden Asthma Study completed questionnaires on self-efficacy, concerns with asthma medication, asthma control and HRQL. Two path models with self-efficacy as independent variable, mental and physical HRQL as dependent variables and concerns with asthma medication and asthma control as mediators were conducted.
Results: In both path models, self-efficacy was negatively associated with concerns with asthma medication (β= -.130, p=0.005) and positively associated with asthma control (β =.100, p=0.027). The effect of concerns with asthma medication on both mental and physical HRQL went through that of asthma control (β=-.138, p=0.003). Both concerns with asthma medication and asthma control mediated the effect of self-efficacy on both mental HRQL (β =.132, p=0.002) and physical HRQL (β =.455, p=0.001).
Conclusion: Adult asthmatics need support to strengthen their self-efficacy and assistance to overcome their concerns with the asthma medication in order to improve their asthma control. Better self-efficacy and reduced concerns with asthma medication will increase asthma control, which in turn most likely will have a positive effect on both mental and physical HRQL in adult asthmatics.
- Copyright ©the authors 2017