Chaney et al

Summarise the background to Chaney’s study.

It’s common for children to have asthma and also not take their medication properly therefore devices such as aero chamber and breath-a-tech were developed but weren’t very useful.

Define positive and negative reinforcement and how it links to asthma inhalers.

Positive reinforcement- the action leads to us gaining something we find pleasant

Negative reinforcement- the action leads to us getting rid of something we find unpleasant

Asthma inhalers are negatively reinforcing children as they are used again to get rid of the unpleasant symptoms of asthma.

What was the aim for this study?

To see if incorporating both positive and negative reinforcement in an inhaler (funhaler) would train the children in how to use their inhaler properly.

What would the funhaler do?

The funhaler would produce a whistle sound and a disc would spin around if the child used the correct technique.

What was the sample?

- 32 children (22 boys and 10 girls)

- Aged 1 1/2 to 6 years old

- Recruited from seven clinics in Australia spanning differing socioeconomic and geographical backgrounds

Summarise the procedure.

1. Parents were contacted, visited and gave informed consent before they filled out a questionnaire about their child's current inhaler spacer device.

2. Parents gave the funhaler for their child to use for 2 weeks.

3. After, parents contacted again and given another questionnaire about funhaler this time.

What were the findings?

Behaviour- 50% of children achieved their desired four or more breath cycles per delivery with their previous inhaler vs 80% with the funhaler

Attitudes- 10% of parents said they were happy with their child's previous inhaler vs 61% for the funhaler

Which debates link to Chaney’s study?

Nature-Nurture

• Nurture because it links to their upbringings as they’re given the funhaler for 2 weeks and seeing there’s a change in their actions.

Freewill-Determinism

• Free will as not all the parents report their child is using the device correctly so the children are still choosing what to do.

Evaluate ethnocentrism.

Low

• Sample spanned across different socio-economic and geographical areas

• Asthma is a global condition and the issue of reluctance to use an inhaler is global too

High

• Conducted only in Australia