Self-management Experiences of Asthma in School-age Children

Abstract

Objective: To explore the experiences of self-management in school-age children with asthma.
Research design: Descriptive qualitative research.
Methods: The informants were 26 school-age children with asthma who came to the Asthma and Allergy Clinic in the Out-Patient Department at Thammasat University Hospital who were selected by purposive sampling. Data was collected by conducting in-depth interviews, transcribed verbatim and analyzed by content analysis.
Findings: The informants were composed of nineteen boys and seven girls with asthma with ages ranging from 9-12 years and an average age of 10.5 years, standard deviation was 1.1 years. According to the data analysis, the experiences of the school-age children with self-management of asthma were composed of the following four themes. First, the perception about asthma comprised two aspects, namely, unlike their friends, and unhealthy person. Second, impact of the disease included disturbances of daily life and academic performance. Third, children began to take responsibility for asthma management, including avoiding triggers, taking medications, and monitoring asthma symptoms. The fourth was that feelings about asthma self-management was composed of two perspectives; recognition of the importance in practice, and the difficulties to the implementation of asthma management.
Conclusion: The findings of this study provide understanding about experiences with self-care aimed at asthma management in school-age children and can be implemented as guidelines for the formation of programs for promoting self-management in school-age children with asthma.