Urban American Indian family caregivers' perceptions of barriers to management of childhood asthma.

ABSTRACT

American Indian family caregivers of children with asthma face numerous barriers to effective management of the illness. The purpose of this qualitative, community-based study is to identify those barriers as perceived by family caregivers in a large Midwestern city. An ecological perspective and principles of family-centered care provided the theoretical orientation for the study. Interviews were conducted with 16 urban Ojibwe family caregivers of children with asthma. Five categories of barriers characterize the families' experiences provider (individual and system), condition-related, family caregiver, socioeconomic, and environmental. Examination of these findings suggests directions for improving care to American Indian children with asthma and their families.