Adolescent and parental perceptions about asthma and asthma management: a dyadic qualitative analysis.
BACKGROUND
Considering that asthma management is a family affair - with specific challenges in adolescence - a better understanding of both adolescent and parental perspectives on asthma and its treatment are needed as these constructs may substantially account for variation in illness-related behaviour and functioning. The present study aimed to (1) explore adolescents' and caregivers' perceptions about asthma and asthma management and (2) examine congruence and dissimilarities within the adolescent-caregiver dyads.


METHODS
Data collection was conducted separately for adolescents and caregivers using a focus group approach for the adolescents and telephone interviews for parental data collection. In total, dyadic data from n = 15 adolescent patients with asthma (aged 11-17 years, M = 14.9) and their mothers (aged 37-55 years, M = 46.3) were considered in the study. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed in a dyad-focused multistep qualitative content analysis procedure using the software.


RESULTS
The results demonstrated high complexity in the perceptions among adolescents and mothers and reflected 113 specific themes that could be assigned to four main topics: asthma beliefs, representations of asthma treatment, perceptions about individual asthma management and perceptions about family asthma management. Dyadic analyses revealed congruence in the adolescent-caregiver dyads in most of the themes. However, we also found issues where divergent perceptions became evident including, for example, perceptions of asthma's general impact on adolescents' life or the question of who takes the main responsibility in asthma management.


CONCLUSIONS
Adolescents' and caregivers' perceptions were found to reflect a great variety of beliefs regarding the adolescents' illness and illness-related behaviour on both the individual and the family level. The study adds to the illness perceptions literature by providing a systemic perspective that was rather rarely presented in prior research.
Institute for Quality Management and Social Medicine, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
K
K
Heyduck
Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
J
J
Bengel
Institute for Quality Management and Social Medicine, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
E
E
Farin-Glattacker
Institute for Quality Management and Social Medicine, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
M
M
Glattacker
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010465:Perception; D036301:Qualitative Research
adolescence; asthma management; dyads; illness perceptions; qualitative analysis