Chaney et al - Asthma Spacer Device to Improve Compliance in Children

Chaney et al - Asthma Spacer Device to Improve Compliance in Children

1. A Pilot Study

2. Research Method

   • A field experiment, conducted in the participants' home settings in Australia
     • More ecologically valid as the participants are in their own enviornment, where they would usually take their asthma medication; at home
     • There are more extraneous variables as the participants are in their own home and not in a controlled environment
   • Repeated Measures Design
     • This allows the researchers to show a clear comparison and analysis between the compliance of children with the two asthma devices
       • Less participants needed than in independent measures design
       • Excludes individual differences
     • More chances of order effects as the children are using both inhalers
       • Demand Characteristics as the participants use both inhalers (see both conditions)

3. Sample

   • 32 Children
     • 22 Male, 10 Female
       • Gender Bias - reducing the population validity
     • Age Range: 1.5 Years to 6 Years
       • Mean age 3.2
       • Average duration of asthma 2.2 Years
     • The children's parents provided informed consent and also participated in the study through completing questionnaires and taking part in a phone interview.
       • Children were too young to give their own consent. The fact that the parents gave consent makes Chaney's study ethically sound, as there is a lack of deception, and the study is also confidential
   • Random Sampling
     • Random sample of asthmatic children who had been prescribed drugs delivered by PMDI and Spacer (pressurised metered dose inhaler)
       • Recruited from Clinics across a large geographical area
         • Increases the population validity
     • Process of selection is unbias and fair, as everyone has an equal chance of being chosen
     • Has a chance of producing a bias sample, as it is completely random

4. Experimental Design

   • Independent variables
     • Whether the child used a standard/small volume spacer device - The Breath-a-Tech
     • Whether the child used a Funhaler
   • Dependent Variable
     • The amount of adherence to the prescribed medical regime

5. Quantative Findings

   • Given in numerical form such as the numbers of asthmatic children and their parents who administered medication on randomly checked days
   • Easy to Directly and objectively compare the use of each device
   • Lack of Depth and detail about the compliance of children with the medication

6. Procedure Details

   • The children's parents gave informed consent and completed a structured close question questionnaire, with an interviewer about the child's current asthma device
     • The participants were asked to use a funhaler instead of their normal PDMI space inhaler, without further instructions, except that parental guidance was required
       • The Funhaler incorporated the standard PDMI inhaler and spacer, along with an additional attachment which included incentive toys, such as a spinning disc and whistle. These were designed to distract the children from the drug delivery event and to encourage and reward deep breathing patterns (required for effective delivery of medication
         • This was a form of operant conditioning - Self reinforcement as the use of device rewarded the user, requiring no external reinforcement/encouragement from doctor or parent.
           • After this time, parents completed a matched item questionnaire on the funhaler. The researchers also conducted a random check via telephone checking on participants to find out whether they had attempted to educate their child the day before