DENVER- Children who don't take prescribed medication are more likely to be found in families where affection isn't displayed, and where expectations and consequences of behavior aren't expressed to the child, according to National Jewish Medical and Research Center researchers.
"When you look at people who fail in the treatment of asthma you find a higher number of families and kids with psychological problems" said Bruce Bender, Ph.D., head of Neuropsychology at National Jewish Medical and Research Center. But, he adds, "a child who doesn't take his or her medications doesn't necessarily have psychological problems."
The study, by Bender and National Jewish's Henry Milgrom, M.D., is published in the June issue of the Journal of Asthma.
"Medication adherence was linked to the emotional climate and level of organization within the family," according to the article. Using a standardized questionnaire, families that agreed with the following statements --"We are reluctant to show our affection for each other;" "Some of us just don't respond emotionally"-- were more likely to have a child with asthma who did not follow a physician's instructions for medication use.
Regular family fights and disorganization are among the problems experienced in families whose children have difficulty following treatment instructions given by a physician. "A real red flag is conflict in the family," Bender said.
General family disorganization can be another indicator of the type of family situation that lends itself to problems for a child with asthma. "Things get lost in the hub-bub and stress of everyday life," he said. A pattern of disorganization in the family can have severe consequences for a child with asthma because the disease takes a tremendous amount of work to control.
The study also found that knowledge of asthma's symptoms and treatments alone is
not enough to ensure that a child will take medication as prescribed. For
example, parents r
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Contact: Jordan Gruener
gruener.jordan@njrc.org
303-398-1002
National Jewish Medical and Research Center
1-Jun-1998