Cognitive aspects of childhood asthma

Abstract

Research was undertaken to improve our knowledge about children’s awareness of respiratory sensations, beliefs about asthma of children with asthma and their parents, the nature and extent of childhood asthma sufferers’ psychological difficulties, and parents’ and children’s reasons for achieving good control of asthma. Recognition and accurate reporting of respiratory sensations have implications for asthma management. Illness beliefs explain differences in adaptation to chronic disease. Childhood asthma is situated within a family context. Asthma severity and the source of information may explain differences in reports of children’s psychological well-being. Low adherence with treatment recommendations has been reported, and chronic disease can influence quality of life. Participants were recruited from a hospital asthma database, primary care patient lists, and through state primary schools. The interviews involved physically healthy children, children with asthma, and the parents of children with asthma. Qualitative and quantitative methods involved the use of storyboards, semi- structured interviews, and questionnaires. The main arguments are that, (i) social interaction, in the context of childhood asthma, is a determinant of children’s sophisticated descriptions of respiratory sensations, (ii) children’s understanding of the different aspects of asthma is determined by their personal salience, and the necessity of acquiring strategies to resolve asthma-related difficulties, (iii) concordance in the beliefs of parents and their child about the child’s asthma is associated with less conflict about the child’s disease and disease-related situations, and the quality of family life mediates the relationship between belief concordance and the child’s psychological well-being, and (iv) participants’ reasons for achieving good control of asthma reflect the aspects of their lives that are most affected by asthma. It was concluded that the personal salience of different aspects of childhood asthma may encourage an awareness of symptoms, prompt discussion of internal states, foster concordance in beliefs, and motivate adherence with treatment recommendations