Developing education for children with asthma through study of self-management behavior.

Bronchial asthma is the major cause of disability in childhood. Among its effects are impaired levels of physical activity and self-esteem, reduced school attendance and performance, and increased utilization of emergency health services. This paper describes the development of a health education program designed to test the hypothesis that better family self-management of asthma can reduce the negative impact of the disease. Three hundred low income Black and Hispanic families were enrolled in the study. Children and primary caretakers were interviewed separately to obtain baseline data on current levels of self-management and to assess needs for educational intervention. Data have been accumulated on a variety of topics concerning asthma self-management, including health practices and beliefs, coping skills, asthma knowledge, and locus of control. An Asthma Self-Management Index was developed to measure positive management behaviors by the family. The needs assessment indicated that six core themes were priorities for these families in terms of relevant skills and behaviors. These topics were incorporated as lesson plans in the intervention.