title: Exercise behavior in asthmatic children: effects of a summer camp fitness program in Taiwan.
abstract: This quasi experimental study aimed to examine the effects of a swimming-focused summer camp program on self-efficacy and exercise behavioral change in schoolchildren with asthma and their parental support. Forty-one asthmatic schoolchildren were recruited from a medical center and an asthma education association in southern Taiwan. The participants in the summer camp program were assigned to the experimental group; the control group comprised those who did not attend the summer camp program. Each child was paired with a parent. A total of 16 child-parent pairs in the experimental group and 25 pairs in the control group were followed-up. This 1.5-day asthma summer camp program included 20 minutes of health education in physical activity, two sessions of swimming practice for the children, and a 2-hour conference with the parents. The outcome measures included an Exercise Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, Stages of Exercise Behavior Change Questionnaire, and a Parental Support for Exercise Questionnaire. Before implementing the program, the two groups differed significantly in terms of the severity of their asthma, as well as their pre-camp test scores of exercise self-efficacy. Therefore, asthma severity levels and scores from the pre-camp exercise self-efficacy test were selected as two ANCOVA covariates. The adjusted means for stages of exercise behavior change on the 2-month post-camp test were significantly different between the two groups, F(1, 37) = 5.88 and p = 0.02. Compared with the control group, subjects who attended the summer camp reported more regular exercise behavior at the 2-month post-camp test. Thus, a summer camp program with swimming instruction can enhance the exercise behavior of schoolchildren with asthma. This program is highly recommended for managing schoolchildren with asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Chung Hwa University of Medical Technology, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hung-Liang
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Shing-Yaw
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wu-Yuan
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chung-Hey
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D001519:Behavior; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D013997:Time Factors