An intervention to increase caregiver support for asthma management in middle school-aged youth.
OBJECTIVE
Asthma control requires adherence to a treatment regimen. Caregiver involvement is a key determinant of adolescent asthma control, but the involvement must recognize the youth's developmental stage and need for autonomy. This article describes the evaluation of a pilot asthma management intervention for middle school-aged youth and their adult network members, including caregivers, based on caregiver findings.


METHODS
Following approval from San Diego State University's Institutional Review Board and school district authorization, two middle schools were randomized into one of two conditions: 6-weekly group-based skills training for the adolescents followed by 6-weekly targeted newsletters for caregivers and others (Group 1) versus group-based skills training for adolescents only (Group 2). Outcome evaluation examined pre-post changes by study condition.


RESULTS
Caregivers in both groups reported improvements in quality of life (QOL) and access to asthma care resources among their adolescents. Caregiver self-efficacy increased significantly among Group 1 versus Group 2 caregivers, while Group 2 caregivers (those who did not receive newsletters) reported that their adolescents had more responsibility for their asthma care compared with Group 2 caregivers.


CONCLUSIONS
The adolescent-only intervention resulted in improvements in caregivers' QOL and parenting behaviors that promoted the adolescent's access to asthma resources. When caregivers were directed with intervention materials, their self-efficacy increased. Those who did not receive materials reported that their adolescents had more responsibility for their asthma care. The latter finding may reflect an unintended consequence of an adolescent-only intervention as it may communicate to caregivers to assume less responsibility for their child's asthma care.
Centre of Excellence in Intervention and Prevention Science, Carlton, VIC, Australia.
Jennifer L
JL
Terpstra
Laura J
LJ
Chavez
Guadalupe X
GX
Ayala
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000628:therapy*; D002140:California; D017028:Caregivers / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D019468:Disease Management; D004522:Educational Status; D005192:Family Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012648:Self Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020377:Self Efficacy