Beliefs and self-care practices of adolescents with asthma

The purpose of this qualitative pilot study was to identify beliefs and self-care practices of adolescents with asthma in a private high school, where the incidence of asthma is nearly 20%. Analysis of the data from 10 individual audiotaped interviews, using a semistructured questionnaire, yielded major themes of knowledge acquisition, self-efficacy, and social support that are associated with behaviors that control asthma with better outcomes. Specifically, the greatest knowledge acquisition and symptom recognition were associated with exposure to multiple educators, especially school-based programs. High self-efficacy was facilitated through positive experiences--teens recognized that they had fewer asthma events and severity once they were in better physical condition, on preventive medicines, and/or used trigger avoidance success. Social support for teens was very helpful and included parents, family, friends, coaches and teachers, and healthcare providers. Implications for practice include the need for adolescent asthma-awareness training, as higher awareness of asthma conditions and triggers may provide peer support for teens with asthma in school.