title: Maternal health and child asthma health services use.
abstract: The primary purpose of this pilot study was to examine the influence of maternal health status on health services use in children with the diagnosis of asthma. A secondary purpose was to assess both preventive and illness-related child health services use patterns. Fifty-two asthmatic children and 43 mothers met the inclusion criteria. The majority of mothers (72%, n = 31/43) rated their own overall health as good to excellent. Eighty-six percent (n = 38/44) of the children had a medical home, 20% had peak flow meters, 26% had been to see a specialist, and 4% were currently under the care of a specialist. This pilot study raises important questions about the influence of maternal health on child health services use patterns for asthmatic children from low-income families. Understanding the influence of maternal health on health-seeking patterns for children with asthma is important for nursing intervention.
authors.affiliation: University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, USA. kkaiser@unmc.edu
authors.forename: Katherine Laux
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Teresa L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Barry
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mason
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D008875:Middle Aged; D009329:Nebraska; D010865:Pilot Projects