Exploring Everyday Experiences of Adolescents Living With Asthma Through Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory.

Abstract

Aim: To explore Taiwanese adolescents' experiences with asthma.

Design: Exploratory qualitative study using semi-structured face-to-face interviews, framed within Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory.

Methods: Data were collected until saturation was reached. The interviews focused on adolescents who experienced asthma during their developmental stages. Data were managed using NVivo V12 program.

Data sources: This study was conducted at an outpatient paediatric clinic located within a tertiary teaching hospital (anonymised for review) in Taiwan.

Results: Seventeen Taiwanese adolescents with asthma were interviewed, resulting in the emergence of eight main themes: 'asthma exacerbation and its impacts', 'maintaining physical comfort', 'increased compliance with medication or treatment regimes', 'peer interactions', 'available resources at school', 'uncertainty', 'changes in social participation to manage symptoms', and 'conflicts in asthma care across different generations of family caregivers'.

Conclusion: Taiwanese adolescents with asthma experience regular disruptions to their social participation and school attendance. As a result, maintaining peer relationships may be challenging.

Implications for the profession and/or patient care: Understanding the experiences of adolescents with asthma provides insights in optimising asthma care at home and school settings. Our findings highlight the importance of enabling teachers to respond appropriately to the needs of adolescents with asthma. A lack of understanding among teachers can aggravate adolescents' fear of embarrassment when using an inhaler in the presence of their peers. This may lead to reduced social interactions and feelings of isolation. To create a supportive environment, it is crucial to equip teachers and peers to recognise and respond to asthma symptoms.

Impact: This study addressed the lack of understanding of the developmental needs of Taiwanese adolescents with asthma. Adolescents' home and school environments impact asthma management. Families, teachers and healthcare professionals must consider the developmental experiences of adolescents living with asthma in order to provide appropriate care.

Reporting method: COREQ was used.

Patient or public contribution: The data consists of answers given that comprise responses provided by patients during interviews.