The purpose of this study is the generation of grounded theory to answer the question, """"""""What is the experience of caregivers of inner-city children with asthma from diagnosis to the present?"""""""" The specific aims are: 1) Examine the meaning and impact of asthma in the lives of the caregivers, 2) Explore factors that influence the caregivers' choice of how they care for their child's asthma, 3) Analyze the caregiver's reports of utilizing the healthcare system for their child's asthma and factors that influence that use, and 4) Describe the overall needs of caregivers of children with asthma. This study has clinical and policy significance because it will: 1) Increase the understanding of healthcare providers about the possible needs and expectations of caregivers who not only face their child's diagnosis of asthma, but the issues associated with poverty and the inner-city environment, 2) Provide a foundation for the implementation of nursing interventions to meet the needs of caregivers of children with asthma. Since little is known about the experience of caregivers of inner-city children with asthma a grounded theory approach will be utilized to generate a theoretical model of the asthma experience under these circumstances. Grounded theory allows the hypothesis to emerge from the data through the use of comparative analysis and theoretical sampling.
