Asthma self-management: the perspective of children

This qualitative study explored the knowledge, perceptions, and autonomy of 7- and 12-year-old children relative to the management of their asthma. A total of 32 children with moderate to severe asthma were interviewed using an open-ended drawing interview and a semistructured interview. The triangu lation of results from these two methods revealed developmental differences . Younger children identified medicines by shape, color, or lay terms, reli ed on adults to manage their asthma, and did not recognize warning symptoms of an attack. Older children mastered biomedical terminology and used medi cines independently, although they sometimes asked for the assistance of an adult. All children perceived benefits and non-monetary costs of asthma me dicines. However, they lacked understanding of the categories and role of a sthma medicines. This study suggests that long-term control and quick-relie f metered dose inhalers should be identifiable by consistent color-coding, and that professionals should tailor asthma education and information to ch ildren's stages of cognitive development. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.