Management of a preschool child's asthma, the parents' perspective

Abstract

The goal of this study was to explore and describe the process of managing the preschool child's asthma from the parent's perspective. An exploratory, descriptive study was conducted using semistructured tape-recorded interviews as the primary data collection method. Seventeen parents of fifteen preschool children with asthma formed the sample. Data were analyzed using qualitative data analysis procedures. Parents' descriptions of their experiences revealed that their process of "Integrating Asthma into Daily Life" involved three phases: Ascribing Meaning, Learning to Manage, and Incorporating the Disease. The phases, including properties, strategies used, the primary condition and outcomes are described in detail.