Parents’ Lived Experience with a Child Who Has Asthma

Abstract

In the past year, more than four million parents brought their children to the hospital with asthma symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Purpose: To increase knowledge and understanding of the experience for mothers caring with a child who has asthma. Demographics: Three women who have a child with asthma. Type of Study: Phenomenological method using Giorgi’s method of analysis. Data Collection: Closed session with in-depth interviews. Findings: The themes of this study were Vigilant Watching, Increase Parental Responsibility, and Lack of Knowledge and Education. Most mothers had a heightened sense of responsibility and feeling of guilt. They were cautious about making sure their child had an inhaler or a nebulizer. The mothers stated the importance of education and being able to better care for their child by having relaxation and breathing techniques available for their child. Nursing Implications: The information in this study will increase nurse’s awareness and understanding of how children living with asthma and their parents cope with the everyday stressors and more specifically the importance of medication administration. Generalization: The findings cannot be generalized to all parents living with a child who has asthma. More studies can be done on a larger scale to get more representative results.