Designing a behavioural-educational intervention using intervention mapping to reduce the high rates of paediatric asthma hospital admissions in an inner-city area of Birmingham

Background Interventions based on empirically supported theory are effective in eliciting behaviour change (BC) (Michie & Prestwich, 2010). We used intervention mapping to design a BC intervention to promote effective asthma management.Method An evidence review on BC interventions for asthma was conducted; quantitative admissions data was collated; and qualitative research was used to explore family and patient experiences. These were used in the six processes of intervention mapping: needs assessment, proximal programme objective matrices, theory-based methods and practical strategies, intervention design, adoption and implementation, and evaluation.Findings The six stages demonstrated that self-management behaviours are a critical component of asthma care and that childhood asthma care may be influenced through behaviour and environment. The process showed how intervention methods based on self-regulatory theory (Leventhal et al., 1984) are applicable to self-management behaviours and can be translated into practical applications for asthma self-management.