What families believe and do about children’s asthma triggers at home
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding family beliefs and decisions in the management of asthma triggers in the home: A qualitative study to inform a grounded theory
IRAS ID
292697
Contact name
Alistair Duff
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 9 days
Research summary
Asthma continues to affect over 1.1 million children and young people in the UK. Families are tasked with monitoring and medicating children’s asthma under health professional support. This is often complicated by many children also having sensitivity to allergens that can trigger asthma symptoms.
Indoor environmental allergens (e.g. pet hair/fur, house dust mite) are present in many homes. However, clinicians often report that families with a child with asthma may not optimise management of exposures to airborne irritant triggers (e.g. second-hand smoke/vapour) and/or allergens that can bring on asthma symptoms and make asthma difficult to control. A review of the evidence base has shown little is known about what children and young people with asthma and sensitivity to indoor allergens (and their parents/carers) believe about asthma triggers or how beliefs and attitudes may influence whether strategies are taken to avoid or minimise trigger exposures at home. Children and young people (and parents/carers) under the care of Leeds Children’s hospital asthma clinic, who have both asthma and allergic sensitivity will be invited to participate in online or telephone interviews. To develop an explanation of whether families understand the role of sensitivity to allergens, and if/how families attempt to manage asthma triggers and allergen exposure, qualitative, conversational style interviews with 11-16-year olds and parents/carers are planned, using grounded theory methodology, which aims to build an explanation of the phenomena.
To enable future development of patient-informed programmes to reduce trigger exposures we first need to explore family understanding and beliefs and experiences and how these might inform decisions to avoid or continue to live with triggers.REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SW/0034
Date of REC Opinion
23 Mar 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion