Suchergebnisse

This article deals with chronically ill schoolage children and their parents' perceptions of their neighborhood. Three hundred and sixty-five chronically ill children (ages 10 through 12) were interviewed about their neighborhood. The children described aspects of their neighborhood that they liked and disliked, and their activity pattems alone and with peers. The parents also evaluated neighborhood safety. Regression analysis was used to identify parentand child-reported items that may have influenced images of neighborhood safety. The findings demonstrate that chronically ill children's activity patterns in their neighborhoods are influenced by child factors (perception of the neighborhood and its safety, gender, type of illness) and by parental factors (perception of neighborhood safety, income, home ownership). The findings also suggest that the patterns of interaction of chronically ill children with their neighborhood may be a source of developmental risk.

Numerous studies have identified the relationship of the family caregiver's perception regarding asthma management and the child's asthma outcomes, although few have examined family caregiver asthma management behaviors. The primary aim of this study was to examine the relationship among family management behaviors and asthma morbidity as perceived by maternal caregivers. The Family Management Style Framework was used to guide the research. Maternal caregivers ( N = 101) with school-aged children diagnosed with persistent asthma and living in the United States were recruited from a specialty asthma clinic. When caregivers perceived they were expending much effort on their child's asthma management and were not confident in their ability to perform management activities, the child's asthma outcomes were worse. This is the first study to examine family management behaviors with maternal caregivers of school-aged children with asthma. Findings from this study encourage health care providers to tailor each educational opportunity with families to improve child asthma outcomes. An ongoing effort must be made to include families in asthma management. Health care partnerships between provider and family can lead to improved asthma management.