Discussion
The current study examined the presence of alternate caregivers
(i.e., caregivers living outside of the home who spend
at least 6 hr per week caring for the child) in the daily lives
of RI Latino, Island PR, and NLW children with asthma
and the extent to which alternate caregivers participate in
asthma management. Across the sample, approximately one in four families reported having an alternate caregiver
who was involved in their child’s asthma care.
Grandmothers were most commonly identified as alternate
caregivers. For families with an identified alternate caregiver,
the majority of primary caregivers reported that alternate
caregivers were involved in children’s asthma
medication management (e.g., medication administration),
and that they were confident in alternate caregivers’ ability
to manage child asthma. However, primary caregivers indicated
that alternate caregivers may not be aware of all of the
child’s asthma-related symptoms related to asthma exacerbations
or know all of the child’s asthma triggers. These
findings add to the family asthma management literature
(Kaugars et al., 2004; McQuaid et al., 2005) by providing
empirical support for expanding existing asthma management
practices that primarily target primary caregivers. The
current study reveals the widespread reliance on alternate
caregiver support in providing child asthma care. Thus,
alternate caregivers should be considered valuable contributors
within a child’s asthma treatment plan.