Effective and ineffective management behaviors of parents of infants and young children with asthma.

To define the specific objectives of a planned behavioral intervention directed toward parents of very young children with asthma, 574 detailed descriptions of ineffective and effective asthma management behaviors of parents of infants and young children (through 6 years of age) with asthma were collected via interviews with 117 physicians and other health professionals and 112 parents. Analysis of these data resulted in the identification of 130 ineffective and effective asthma management behaviors of parents that could be grouped in five major areas of responsibility: symptom intervention; symptom prevention; use of medical and educational resources; communication among caregivers; and child development and family relationships. This report presents the methodology of the study, describes the identified behaviors, and discusses implications of the results for the development of a behavioral intervention to improve asthma management by parents.