ORIGINAL ARTICLE ChildrenwithAsthmaandNebulizerUse: ParentalAsthmaSelf-CarePractices andBeliefs Arlene M. Butz, Sc.D., R.N., 1,2 Peyton Eggleston, M.D., 1 Karen Huss, D.N.Sc., R.N., F.A.A.N., 2 Ken Kolodner, Ph.D., 4 Perla Vargas, Ph.D., 5 and Cynthia Rand, Ph.D. 3 1 School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, 2 School of Nursing, and 3 Pulmonary Medicine Department, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 4 Innovative Medical Research, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland 5 Department of Pediatrics, The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas ABSTRACT We examined demographic characteristics, patterns of medication use, asthma morbidity, and asthma self-management practices and beliefs among inner-city children currently using a nebulizer. We also describe the relationship between asthma self-management practices and beliefs and anti-inflammatory (AI) ther- apy. We observed a high rate of morbidity, including frequent emergency room visits, hospitalizations, symptom days and nights, and school absences in this group of school-aged children with asthma. More than three-quarters (81%) reported asthma symptoms consistent with mild persistent or greater severity of asthma, and therefore these subjects should be taking AI medications. Another 16% (36 of 231) of these children reported symptoms consistent with mild inter- mittent asthma. Only 1 out of 7 children in this study reported taking AI medica- tions. We found that parents of children taking daily AI medications were more likely to agree with the belief that children should use asthma medications daily even when the child is not reporting any symptoms. Address correspondence to Arlene M. Butz, Sc.D., R.N., Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21287-3144. E-mail: Abutz@jhmi.edu Journal of Asthma, 38(7), 565–573 (2001) 565 Copyright # 2001 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. www.dekker.com