Intervention models on psycho-social health in families with an asthmatic child

Despite an increase in the prevalence of asthma during the last few decades , the need for hospital treatment of children with asthma has become less. One reason for this is that children and their parents are now more involve d in the treatment of the disease, and responsibility has been shifted from the medical care system to the family. This new responsibility may cause i ncreased psyche-social tension within the family. We conducted a pilot stud y on three limited methods of intervention to find the best way to help fam ilies in this respect. All three methods (individual family meetings, famil y group meetings, and evaluation of the child's environment in school) redu ced the psycho-social burden of having a child with asthma. This indicates that families should be supported by being given the opportunity to partici pate in meetings to discuss the disease or to have the environment in the c hild's school evaluated, in addition to receiving regular medical care.