The application of behavioral procedures to childhood asthma: current and future perspectives

The development and application of behavioral procedures to childhood asthma during the past three decades is reviewed, with particular implications for researchers and practitioners. In particular, the article describes two major categories of procedures that comprise the current state of the art of behavioral intervention; prevention and management of attacks and self-management by patients of their asthma. Much of the discussion focuses on self-management skills, particularly the essential ingredients of data collection, information processing and evaluation, steps required to manage attacks and self-reaction to performance. A final section of the paper speculates on the future directions of applying behavioral techniques to childhood asthma. The need to analyze individual attacks suffered by individual patients is emphasized; in addition, the scientific skills required to successfully manage asthma, performed both by medical personnel and patients, are described. It is hoped that the future will see these skills applied in a manner so that each attack is treated as if it were an experiment.