Chaney et al - Asthma Spacer Device
to Improve Compliance in Children
A Pilot Study
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)
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
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
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
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