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Jennifer Reebel

Dr. Blank

Nursing care of children

04/18/23

Transfer of Asthma Management Responsibility from Parents to their School-Age

Children

Most information and education related to children with asthma has focused on the
treatment rather than the effects on the family. This article worked to show how the care of the
child’s asthma diagnosis can transition from the parent over to the child. This article reviewed
the different stages of the transitioning from parent to child care these included out of control,
autopilot, and letting go. These phases describe the changes that parents and children have to go
through to transfer the management of asthma from themselves to their children. Unfortunately,
the timeframe can be different for everyone depending on the structure and how much the
diagnosis has affected the family.
During the first phase, the management of the disease is out of control mainly because
the parents become stressed and worried about their child with the recent diagnosis of asthma.
Usually, children are diagnosed between the ages of four and six years old even if they have had
respiratory symptoms since infancy. This causes a large amount of stress on not only the child
but the parents as well. During this phase, children have many acute exacerbations of their
asthma, because treatments are not completely understood. During this out-of-control period, the
main focus is on emotion management due to the new and frightful diagnosis.
The second stage, described by the article, is the autopilot phase. During this time, the
management of the child’s asthma becomes a part of the family’s daily routine. At this point, the
child’s asthma is well-controlled due to the full understanding of the disease and the proper daily
management. It was noted that the primary caregiver in the situation was the mother. Several
mothers reported feeling more relaxed in this stage due to the decreased amount of exacerbations
because of the treatment plan that is in place. Having a good understanding of their child’s
disease help put the entire family at ease.
In the final stage, called letting go, the child takes over the role of management for their
own disease. There is no set age when mothers expect or want this to happen as every child is
different. During the letting go stage the child has primary control over symptom management
and treatments. Primary care providers now direct more questions toward the child rather than
the caregiver due to the child’s increased independence. Although this can be stressful at times,
this stage of development shows the child is comfortable and in charge of their self-care.
The information provided by the article was different from anything that we have learned
so far. Most information presented on not only asthma but other diseases are solely based on
management and treatment but leaves out how to get there with children. Caregivers have the
primary role of disease management in younger children, but this article helps to describe how
children can slowly become independent and be able to manage their disease. Most families
followed this three-stage process, and it was interesting to note that mothers were the primary
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disease management compared to fathers. This information will help with any pediatric patient
that is diagnosed with asthma to allow the family more information on what to expect rather than
just how to treat their child. This is an important part of decreasing stress on the family and the
child, especially with their new diagnosis of asthma. This information can be used for older
children as well to show what is expected of them in their treatment. This provides a way to help
them understand their new role in disease management and eliminates stress from dealing with
the disease. This article is very helpful because it explains the important transitions that
accompany a diagnosis of asthma and will improve the quality of care given.