SELF-MANAGEMENT BEHAVIORS OF THE PRESCHOOL CHILD DIAGNOSED WITH ASTHMA: CURRICULAR IMPLICATIONS.
Contributors: University of Minnesota.
Published: 1991
Number of pages: 180
Subjects: Education, Curriculum and Instruction.; Health Sciences, Nursing.; Education, Early Childhood.; Education, Health.
Description: Asthma affects approximately 3 million children in the United States. It is generally agreed that self-management is an important component of its over-all management. Most existing self-management programs are designed for older children even though 50% of the children diagnosed with asthma have an onset of symptoms before the age of 2.

This study collected data from enrollees in a Preschool Family Asthma Program (PFAP) co-sponsored by a children's hospital and the local affiliate of the American Lung Association. Nine families initially participated and seven families remained with the study for its six month duration. The information has implications for curriculum personnel and health care providers.

Parents completed a Parent/Child Questionnaire, long version, during the PFAP enrollment process and completed a shortened version at the end of the program. The questionnaires collected data about the child's asthma, including about severity. Parents completed the Minnesota Child Development Inventory, Self Help and Comprehension-Conceptual Scales, pre-PFAP and an Asthma Self-Management Assessment Scale pre-PFAP, post-PFAP, and at 3 and 6 months post-PFAP. During the PFAP, families were observed by volunteers who simultaneously completed an observation tool. Over the 6 months post-PFAP parents completed a daily diary about their child's asthma.

Pearson and point-biserial correlations, Friedman's two-way ANOVA, Wilcoxon's matched-pairs signed-ranks test, and descriptive statistics were applied to the quantitative data. Content analysis was applied to the qualitative data with the aid of Minnesota Contextual Computer-Analysis. Results indicate no significant differences between asthma self-management behaviors pre-PFAP, post-PFAP, and at 3 and 6 months post-PFAP. There is no significant correlation between self-management behaviors and developmental level measured by the two MCDI scales. There are significant correlations, however, between the presence of behaviors and their effectiveness and importance scores. There is a significant negative correlation between pre-PFAP intervention behaviors and severity and a significant decrease in asthma severity from pre- and post-PFAP to 3 and 6 months post-PFAP. Children had differences qualitatively.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-10, Section: A, page: 3509.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, 1991.

School code: 0130.