Abstract Background The rising prevalence of childhood bronchial asthma imposes a substantial economic burden and threatens the mental health of affected families, worldwide. Although multiple factors influence caregivers’ psychological wellbeing, systematic investigations in this area are still lacking. Hence, this study aimed to explore the relationship between first-aid literacy, coping style, family functioning, and the mental health of caregivers of children with asthma. Methods This cross-sectional descriptive study included 337 children with asthma and their parents. Survey questions assessed demographic and disease related data and caregivers’ first-aid literacy, coping style, family functioning, and the mental health using validated tools. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation analysis were used to analyse the data. The maximum likelihood method was used to fit and modify the relational model. Results First-aid literacy and coping styles were inversely correlated with caregivers’ mental health, whereas family functioning was positively associated. Additionally, first-aid literacy was positively correlated with coping style and negatively correlated with family functioning ( P < 0.01). First-aid literacy not only directly affected the caregivers’ mental health ( β = 0.334), but also indirectly impacted it through the mediation of coping style and family functioning ( β = 0.453). Coping style and family functioning played important mediating roles in the relationship between first-aid literacy and caregivers’ mental health. Conclusion First-aid literacy played an important role in improving caregivers’ mental health. Therefore, healthcare professionals, particularly nurses who have frequent contact with caregivers, should pay attention to first-aid literacy and take effective measures to improve the mental well-being of caregivers’ of children with asthma. Clinical trial number Not applicable.
Fu et al. (2026) studied this question.