Assignment: Asthma Management and Treatment

Asthma is a serious public health problem for children and adolescents in the United States. In 2011, approximately one out of 10 school-aged children had asthma. Because of this chronic illness, students miss 10.5 million school days each year (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2011). There are several barriers in the management and treatment of asthma. Barriers can be created by the parents and guardians or by their children experiencing asthma. Parents and guardians may experience decreased motivation for changing behavior in their children (Bender, 2002). For example, 12-year-old William does not clean his room weekly to get rid of dust mites, which is one of his asthma triggers. After repeated attempts to get him to comply, his parents become less motivated to try to change that behavior. In response to the multiple barriers to effective asthma management and treatment, children and adolescents may find different ways to cope with their illness (Ryan-Wenger & Walsh, 1994).

For this Assignment, imagine you are a health psychology professional and you need to develop a brochure for students with asthma. Consider how you might describe asthma to children and adolescents. Then describe the barriers created by children and adolescents and the potential impact to them. Review the media in this week’s Learning Resources. Please note that you will only view media featuring adolescents because of ethical and legal considerations regarding the taping of younger children.

Submit your Assignment by Day 7. This assignment may be used as the foundation for your comprehensive program due in Week 10. Please review the Week 10 Assignment for details. Please use your creativity while developing your Assignment. You may use the templates provided for your Assignment found in the Course Information area or you may create your own.

The Assignment (1 brochure)

• Create a brochure that could be used in a hospital, clinic, or a school counselor’s office.
• Include the following information within your brochure:
  • Define asthma in children and adolescents.
  • Describe three potential barriers to controlling asthma for children and adolescents.
  • Explain the potential impacts of asthma to the daily functioning of children and adolescents.
  • Explain the differences in coping strategies between children and adolescents with asthma.
• Use appropriate APA references at the bottom of your brochure.

Support your assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are to provide a reference list for all resources, including those in the Learning Resources for this course.

References

Bender, B. G. (2002). Overcoming barriers to nonadherence in asthma treatment. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 109(6), 554–559.

Ryan-Wenger, N. M., & Walsh, M. (1994). Children’s perspectives on coping with asthma. Pediatric Nursing, 20, 224–228.

United States Environmental Protection Agency, Indoor Environments Division, Office of Air and Radiation. (2011). Asthma fact sheet (EPA-402-F-04-019). Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/asthma/pdfs/asthma_fact_sheet_en.pdf

Van De Ven, M. O., Engels, R. C., Sawyer, S. M., Otten, R., & Van Den Ejnded, R. J. (2007). The role of coping strategies in quality of life of adolescents with asthma. Quality of Life Research: An International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care, & Rehabilitation, 16(4), 625–634.