Children and Asthma: Communication and Outcomes

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The project is focused on a neglected area within children's health services research, the relationship between provider-child-caregiver communication during pediatric asthma visits and treatment adherence. Treatment adherence comprises medication adherence, symptom monitoring, and environmental trigger control. Identification of effective communication strategies is important for future intervention research. Thirty-five physicians and their nurses and 360 English-speaking child-caregiver pairs will be recruited at eight pediatric clinics. Children will be eligible if they are between 8 and 15 years of age, have mild, moderate, or severe persistent asthma and have previously visited this clinic at least once before for asthma. Caregivers will be eligible if they are at least 18 years of age and live with the child with asthma. Consent and assent to participate will be obtained from the caregivers and children respectively. Physicians and nurses will fill out a demographic questionnaire at the start of the study. Following enrollment into the study, the children will have their medical visits audio-taped. The children will be interviewed after their medical visits, asked to demonstrate inhaler and peak flow technique, and assessment of their lung function will occur using spirometry. The children's caregivers will fill out questionnaires after these medical visits. A home visit will occur one month after the audio-taped visit. Children will be interviewed during the home visits, asked to demonstrate inhaler and peak flow technique a second time, and have their lung function examined using spirometry. Caregivers will fill out questionnaires. Generalized estimating equations will be used to examine how physician and nurse communication about asthma management, modeling of asthma care behaviors, and engagement of the child and caregiver during medical visits, are related to treatment adherence.