Vt. Colland, LEARNING TO COPE WITH ASTHMA - A BEHAVIORAL SELF-MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN, Patient education and counseling, 22(3), 1993, pp. 141-152
An educational training program for children with asthma, aged between
8 and 13 years, was evaluated in an 18-month randomized, controlled e
xperiment, including three follow-up evaluations. The objective of the
program is to improve coping with asthma in daily life. The program,
ten 1-hour sessions, is a combination of self-management training and
cognitive behaviour therapy in a group, using games and learning mater
ials, specifically designed for this age group. From 195 asthmatic chi
ldren, 112 with inadequate self-management abilities were selected; th
ese children were randomly divided into an experimental group and two
control groups. The results indicated highly significant differences i
n favor of the experimental group on the psychological and medical var
iables. There were no drop-outs during the program. The conclusion is
that this multi-faceted program is an effective method of teaching chi
ldren how to cope with their asthma and helping them to achieve a less
anxious and more realistic attitude towards their illness.