"Mastering uncertainty:" mothering the child with asthma.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the meaning childhood asthma has for mothers of afflicted children.


METHODS
The qualitative method, ethnography, was used in this study. Participant observation and indepth interviewing took place in the homes of the participants. Using a method adapted from Spradley (1979), the analysis included uncovering domains, taxonomies, components of meaning, and finally cultural themes.


RESULTS
The overall theme that emerged was "mastering uncertainty." The mothers expressed their experiences in terms of self by describing "internal self" and "actions" during a "passage of time."


CONCLUSIONS
These themes can assist nurses and other health care professionals in understanding the meaning of childhood asthma to mothers.
MacDonald
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D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000451:nursing*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research