Chaney

• background

  • poor adherence to asthma medication
• aim - to test the use of the funhaler device
• method

  • field experiment in ps home in Australia
  • repeated measures design
  • iv - whether children used inhaler or funhaler
  • dv - amount of adherence to medical regime
• sample

  • 32 children
  • mean age 3.2
  • opportunity sampling via the GP
• procedure

  1. parents complete a questionnaire about current inhaler and to provide consent
  2. ps then asked to use the funhaler for 2 weeks in homes
  3. parents then completed the same questionnaire on the usage of the funhaler
• results

  • compliance increased from 59% to 80%
  • success in medication increased from 10% to 73%
• conclusions

  • the funhaler may be useful for management of asthmatics due to the application of the behaviourist principles
• key criticisms

  • the novelty will wear off - children will overtime become used to the device and become bored of the whistle
  • the gp will likely have chosen ps for specific reasons which alter the validity of the study
• strengths

  • Ecological validity 
  • Standardisation
  • reduced extraneous variables due to use of repeated measures design
• weakness

  • introduction of order effects, ps experience all conditions and the novelty of using the funhaler over time will wear off 
  • Ethnocentrism
  • social desirability bias - parents are likely to lie and say their children are using the device more to seem like good parents