An asthma rehabilitation program for families

The Family Asthma Rehabilitation Program of the Ontario Crippled Children's Centre is for children with severe asthma whose symptoms have not previously been well controlled. The severity of asthma symptoms on admission to the program was assessed for 75 children and the effects of the treatment were determined by means of severity ratings at time of discharge. Follow up interviews with families of children who graduated from the program between 1973 and 1978 suggest that the children remained well controlled, and parents were able to manage their children with minimized anxiety and stress. The issue of lack of continuity in the longterm care of the children was raised by many families: implications for the centre and for family physicians are considered.