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What Parents Want Doctors to Know: responses to an open-ended item on an asthma questionnaire. OBJECTIVE: Unstructured parental comments could solicit important information about children's asthma, yet are rarely captured in clinical asthma questionnaires. This mixed-methods study describes parents' written responses to an open-ended question in a validated asthma questionnaire. METHODS: The Pediatric Asthma Control and Communication Instrument (PACCI) asthma questionnaire was administered to parents of children with asthma symptoms presenting to 48 pediatric primary care offices (PPCP), 1 pediatric pulmonology office, and 1 emergency department (ED). Responses to the question, "Please write down any concern or anything else you would like your doctor to know about your child's asthma" were analyzed using a phenomenological approach until thematic saturation was achieved for each site. Logistic regressions tested whether sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were associated with responding to the open-ended question. RESULTS: Of 7,988 parents who completed the PACCI, 954 (12%) responded to the open-ended question - 2% in PPCP, 31% in the ED and 50% in the pulmonary setting. More severe asthma was associated with higher odds of responding (OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.42-2.84). Based on responses provided, we identified three communication types: 1) clarifying symptoms; 2) asking questions; and 3) communicating distress. Responses also covered five asthma-related themes: 1) diagnostic uncertainty; 2) understanding asthma etiology and prognosis; 3) medication management; 4) impact on child function; and 5) personal asthma characteristics. CONCLUSION: Parents of children with severe asthma provided clarifying details, asked questions, and relayed health concerns and distress. All of these topics may not be easily captured by closed-ended asthma questionnaires. WHAT'S NEW: The thematic analysis in this study suggests that open-ended questions may make unique contributions to content of closed-ended asthma questionnaires, particularly for severe asthmatics seen outside of the primary care setting.