Objectives: The aim of this systematic literature review is to study the enabling and hindering factors influencing adherence to asthma treatment among adolescents. Furthermore, it explores the role of caregivers and the healthcare provider in terms of supporting adolescents to manage and live with asthma.
Data sources: The literature review was conducted using the MeSH terms asthma, adherence, health literacy, behavior, adolescents, tools, healthcare provider, caregiver, peer influence, self-management, quality of life, morbidity and mortality in PubMed, PsycInfo, MEDLINE and CINAHL.
Study selection: The literature search resulted in 652 articles of which 304 were screened based on title and abstracts. Ninety-one of the screened articles were then selected for full-text assessment resulting in 42 articles for in-depth analysis.
Results: The literature review identified nine enabling and hindering factors relevant for adherence to asthma treatment among adolescents: behavior, belief, self-management, health literacy, role of health provider, assessment of adherence, role of caregiver, role of peers and the national asthma guidelines.
Conclusion: Working with this particular age group is complex and further research in understanding adolescent's behavior, motives, beliefs and perceptions towards adherence to asthma treatment is required to guide them towards better self-management and acceptance of their condition.
Keywords: Behavior; assessment; beliefs; caregiver; guidelines; health literacy; health provider; peers; personality; self-management.