Charu Grover (left) with Bandana Saini.
By Richard North 14 May 2013 - Chidren with asthma in India are being prevented from receiving effective treatment by a range of widely-held myths and misconceptions, says a University of Sydney study. Researcher Charu Grover ed young asthma patients and their families in New Delhi as part of her PhD project. She found that considerable stigma is still attached to the disease, which is thought to be on the rise in India. Parents are reluctant to disclose their child's asthma to schools or relatives; many children do not take inhalers to school, and their parents do not have easy access to information about the disease or how medications work. Asthma was also seen by parents as a particular problem for girls because it could damage their future marriage prospects. "There are common misconceptions about asthma," said Charu. "Many people still think of it as an old age disease or a smokers' disease, and parents are often fatalistic about it - they see it as God's will." Charu, a homeopathic doctor from Delhi, worked for eight years with patients suffering from allergic diseases before moving to Sydney to study for a PhD in pharmacy.
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