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The Brazelton Touchpoints Center at the Child Development Unit, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, designed a program intended to change the way asthma is managed in medical offices across the United States. This program was recently implemented at five pediatric asthma practices in the Chicago area where asthma prevalence is alarmingly high.
The Touchpoints Asthma Program, as created by the Brazelton Touchpoints Center, is a training model for pediattic practitioners that emphasizes building supportive alliances between young patients with asthma, the patients' parents, and health care providers. The program evolved from the tenets of Dr. T. Berry Brazelton's book, Touchpoints (1992) and from more than 20 years of training and research with parents and professionals at the Child Development Unit, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA. This program was recently implemented at five pediatric practices in the Chicago area.
The Scope of Pediatric Asthma
The creation of the Touchpoints Asthma Program was prompted by the near epidemic level of pediatric asthma in the U.S. and the persistent level of misunderstanding existing between physicians, children with asthma, and their parents. Asthma is the most common chronic illness of childhood, afflicting 5 million children in the U.S. under the age of 18 and an estimated 1.3 million under the age of 5 (American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology [AAAAI], 1999). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1998), between 1980 and 1994 asthma increased by 160% in children age 4 and under. Childhood asthma accounts for more than 10 million days missed from school annually, making it the most common cause of school absences from chronic disease in the U.S. (AAAAI, 1999).
Asthma also is the first-ranking chronic condition causing hospitalization among children under the age of 15. The financial burden of asthma is staggering, with the estimated annual cost of treating asthma in children under 18 years of age now standing at $3.2 billion (American Lung Association, 1999).
Missed Opportunities: An Ongoing Dilemma
Extensive research has shown that while much information about asthma is available, this information has not reached many parents in a way that helps them get effective asthma treatment for their children. Children with asthma and their parents often do not understand the chronic nature of asthma. Parents may be confused about...