Rina Triasih, Ery Olivianto, Finny Fitry Yani, Sang Ayu Kompiyang Indriyani, Fifi Sofiah, Retno Asih Setyoningrum, Moh Syarofil Anam, Rifan Fauzie
Objective. Sub-optimal management of childhood asthma in developing countries has been a recognized issue for decades. Our study aimed to evaluate actual practice in the management of asthma among pediatricians in Indonesia and identify gaps to the national guideline. Methods. We conducted an online survey involving 1386 pediatricians from 37 of 38 provinces in Indonesia, representing 28.8% of the pediatricians registered in the Indonesian Pediatric Society. Results. While nebulizers and inhaled reliever medications were widely available, inhaled corticosteroids medications and spirometer were scarce. Only 16.2% of pediatricians used spirometer to support the diagnosis. Meanwhile, routine blood counts and chest X-ray were commonly performed, and nearly 90% of pediatricians reported prescribing oral short acting β2-agonist as relievers, which is inconsistent with guidelines. Conclusion. There are significant gaps between national guidelines and actual practices in childhood asthma management in Indonesia, which may be due to disparities and barriers to medication access. © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Universitas Gadjah Mada/Dr. Sardjito Hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Faculty of Medicine Universitas Brawijaya, East Java, Malang, Indonesia; Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Andalas, West Sumatra, Padang, Indonesia; Faculty of Medicine Universitas Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara Province General Hospital, West Nusa Tenggara, Mataram, Indonesia; Universitas Sriwijaya/Dr. Mohammad Hoesin Hospital, South Sumatra, Palembang, Indonesia; Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, East Java, Surabaya, Indonesia; Faculty of Medicine Universitas Diponegoro, Central Java, Semarang, Indonesia; Harapan Kita National Women and Children Health Center, Jakarta, Indonesia
