An estimated 15 percent of American children (5.3 million) have asthma. Despite better treatments and improved self-care programs, the prevalence of asthma continues to rise, with more children hospitalized for asthma than for any other chronic illness. Health experts suggest that cognitive, emotional, and behavioral variables contribute to the severity of the disease. Programs that promote psychosocial adaptation are more likely to improve children?s attitude about having asthma and may reduce asthma episodes. Health care providers often use storytelling, story writing and narrative therapy to and encourage psychosocial adaptation in children with chronic illnesses. Multimedia also are used to educate children and promote health by accommodating brief attention spans and encouraging responsiveness and user control.
The aim of this project is to develop and pilot test Okay with Asthma, an Internet-based interactive program using storytelling and story writing techniques to increase children?s asthma knowledge and improve their attitude toward having asthma. The program is based on Austin?s Child and Family Adaptation to Chronic Illness Model and integrates the school environment in the adaptation process. An asthma expert, Dr. Gail Kieckhefer, will establish the content validity of the program and a storyteller expert will establish the effectiveness of the interactive story. The program will be piloted with 30, 8-12 year old asthmatic children attending Albemarle County, public schools located in Virginia. To pilot test the effectiveness of the program Okay with Asthma, an interrupted time series, quasi-experimental design will be used.
| Wyatt, Tami H; Hauenstein, Emily (2008) Enhancing children's health through digital story. Comput Inform Nurs 26:142-8;quiz 149-50 |
| Wyatt, Tami H; Hauenstein, Emily J (2008) Pilot testing Okay With Asthma: an online asthma intervention for school-age children. J Sch Nurs 24:145-50 |
