| Learning Objective #1: Discuss the importance of teaching children with asthma to self-monitor and self-report asthma symptoms as part of asthma self-management at home | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Plan asthma education and treatment protocols based on school-age children's self-reports of characteristics of their asthma episodes |
OBJECTIVE: The purpose was to examine school-age children’s self-reports of characteristics of their asthma episodes including the precipitating events, symptoms experienced during the episodes, and interventions employed to resolve the episodes. DESIGN: Children’s self-reports of their asthma episodes were assessed over a 6-week period as part of a randomized, controlled clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of an asthma self-management program on adherence to recommended daily peak expiratory flow rate monitoring. SAMPLE: Forty-two 7- though 11-year-old children with asthma from West Virginia participated. METHODS: Children were instructed to answer the following questions on the Asthma Report Form each time they experienced an asthma episode: (1) What were you doing? (2) How did you feel? and (3) What did you do to help your breathing? FINDINGS: Of the children, 71% experienced at least one asthma episode during the six weeks. There were a total of 206 episodes. Physical activity (51%) was the most cited trigger, cough alone or combined with other symptoms (84%) was the predominant symptom, and rescue asthma medication (59%) was identified most often as the intervention used to resolve the asthma episode. CONCLUSIONS: Children’s self-reports provided valuable information about children’s asthma episodes. The finding that the majority of the children experienced at least one asthma episode during the 6-week period underscores the importance of family education on how to handle asthma episodes effectively at home. Since physical activity was cited most often as a trigger for asthma episodes, families should receive education on preventive steps for averting an asthma episode prior to the child engaging in physical activity. IMPLICATIONS: With the knowledge provided by the children’s self-reports, nurses can structure asthma education and treatment protocols that are individualized to the particular needs of the child and family in an effort to prevent and manage asthma episodes.
Back to Children with Chronic Illness
Back to 14th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
10-12 July 2003