Feasibility and impact of a school-based intervention for families of urban adolescents with asthma: results from a randomized pilot trial.
The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and short-term outcomes of Asthma: It's a Family Affair!, a school-based intervention for adolescents with asthma and their caregivers. Twenty-four ethnic minority families with a middle school student with asthma were randomized to immediate intervention or no-treatment control. Intervention students received six group sessions on prevention and management of asthma. Caregivers received five group sessions teaching child-rearing skills to support the youth's autonomy and asthma self-management. All students attended all sessions; caregivers attended an average of three. Two months post-intervention, relative to controls, intervention caregivers reported better problem-solving with children. Intervention students were more responsible for carrying medication, took more prevention steps, and woke fewer nights from asthma. The intervention resulted in positive short-term changes in family relations, asthma management by students, and health status.
Bruzzese
Jean-Marie
JM
NYU Child Study Center, New York University School of Medicine, 215 Lexington Ave., 13th Floor, New York, NY 10016, USA. Bruzzj01@nyu.edu
Unikel
Lynne
L
Gallagher
Richard
R
Evans
David
D
Colland
Vivian
V
D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017028:Caregivers; D002648:Child; D005006:Ethnicity; D005195:Family Relations; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012648:Self Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population