QUESTIONS FOR ASTHMA INTERVIEW (Dr.
Alison Kenner, August 15, 2016)
1) History of Asthma
When did you develop asthma?
What were your symptoms?
Was your asthma associated with allergies?
Do you remember your first asthma attack?
Your first doctor’s appointment?
How were you diagnosed?
Do you have siblings or parents with asthma?
What are your triggers?
Do you have allergies?
What time of the year do you suffer most from allergies / asthma?
What are you allergic to?
How do you care for your allergies?
Did you have pets growing up?
Did you or family members make any environmental (getting rid of pets, dusting the
house more, using pesticides) or behavioral modifications (quitting cigarettes, not going
outside, etc.) after you were diagnosed with asthma?
2) Asthma Treatment
What kind of medication were you prescribed after being diagnosed with asthma?
Were you asked to use a peak flow meter? Record symptoms?
Did you take your medication as prescribed?
Did your medication ever change? Did you try new prescriptions? Take part in clinical
trials?
Were you ever hospitalized because of an asthma attack?
Did you receive any kind of asthma education? Did the doctor tell you about
environmental management?
Were their activities or environments that you avoided to prevent an asthma attack?
Have you ever tried alternative or supplementary treatments such as swimming, yoga,
dietary change, breathing exercises or vocal chord therapy?
What kind of asthma education or literature did your doctor provide?
3) Embodiment
What is the first sign of asthma symptoms? What happens first? How do you know
you’re having an attack?
Is there a progression of symptoms?
Are the symptoms different if you’re exposed to say, cigarette smoke versus cold air? (or
whatever the person’s triggers are)
4) How would you describe your relationship with your inhaler?
3) Asthma and School/Work
Did you ever miss school due to asthma? Or work?
Did you ever need to use your inhaler at school?
Did you know any other children with asthma?
Did your school have special policies or programs for students with asthma?
Can you remember any situations where other students or teachers perceived or treated
you differently because you had asthma?
Has asthma ever prevented you from doing things you wanted to do?
4) Home Environment
Where did you grow up?
Do you think your home town/city had a clean environment?
Would you have known if there were environmental hazards in your home town/city?
Does your town have any major industries or factories?
How would you describe or rate the air quality in your home town/city?
Did you receive any information or education about environmental conditions in your
home town/city?
5) Asthma at College
Have you had any problems with asthma attacks since coming to school?
If so, what do you attribute this to?
