Treatment alliance and its association with family functioning, adherence, and medical outcome in adolescents with severe, chronic asthma.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the concept of treatment alliance in the care of adolescents with asthma.


METHODS
Measures of treatment alliance were obtained from 60 adolescents with severe, chronic asthma admitted to a tertiary care facility, their parents, and their asthma specialists at the referral center. Associations were examined between the alliance measures and multimeasure, multiagent data concerning family functioning and asthma treatment adherence and outcome.


RESULTS
Physicians' reports of treatment alliance were associated with concurrent family functioning and asthma medication adherence, as well as with asthma treatment adherence and outcome in the year after the stay at the asthma center.


CONCLUSIONS
As emphasized in the recently revised Expert Panel Report: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma (NHLBI, 1997), the ability of children with asthma, their parents, and their physician to create a positive partnership, or treatment alliance, appears to have an important role in optimal asthma management.
Gavin
L A
LA
National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, Colorado 80206, USA.
Wamboldt
M Z
MZ
Sorokin
N
N
Levy
S Y
SY
Wamboldt
F S
FS
D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index