title: Children's perceptions of asthma: African American children use metaphors to make sense of asthma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Children's views of their illness often are absent in decisions that affect their lives. This research, which is a component of a larger study, reports how African American children described their asthma.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study's design was descriptive and longitudinal, using an ethnographic approach. A subsample of 10 children diagnosed with asthma who resided in one of two study sites spontaneously described their asthma. The study was conducted in various settings where the researchers observed/participated in selected activities. Participants were interviewed several times, and field notes were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The qualitative findings are from participant observation and interviews of 10 children ages 9 to 12 years. Four of the most developed metaphors are reported here. Out of their experiences, children created their own metaphors for asthma that are concrete, familiar, and multi-vocal, allowing for embellishment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Not all children use metaphors to explain or describe their asthma. Children who explain asthma in their own terms will feel valued and invested in their own health care as they find that their voices make a difference in decisions about their care.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Seatle University, Seattle, WA 98122-1090, USA. jpeterso@seattle.edu
authors.forename: Jane W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: Yvonne M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Sterling
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D044383:Black People; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D012647:Self-Assessment; D001741:Black or African American