Smartphone-based vs paper-based asthma action plans for adolescents

Tamara T Perry; Alexandra Marshall; Ariel Berlinski; Mallikarjuna Rettiganti; Rita H Brown; Shemeka M Randle; Chunqiao Luo; Jiang Bian

doi:10.1016/j.anai.2016.11.028

Smartphone-based vs paper-based asthma action plans for adolescents

Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2017 Mar;118(3):298-303. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2016.11.028. Epub 2017 Jan 19.

Authors

Tamara T Perry¹, Alexandra Marshall², Ariel Berlinski³, Mallikarjuna Rettiganti⁴, Rita H Brown⁴, Shemeka M Randle⁵, Chunqiao Luo⁴, Jiang Bian⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas; Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute, Little Rock, Arkansas. Electronic address: perrytamarat@uams.edu.
² Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas.
³ Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas; Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute, Little Rock, Arkansas.
⁵ Arkansas Department of Health, Little Rock, Arkansas.
⁶ Department of Health Outcomes and Policy, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

PMID: 28111110
DOI: 10.1016/j.anai.2016.11.028

Abstract

Background: Adolescents with asthma are at risk of poor outcomes and are traditionally difficult to reach.

Objective: To examine adolescents' use of and asthma outcomes associated with smartphone- vs paper-based asthma action plans (AAPs).

Methods: We conducted a 6-month randomized clinical trial with adolescents (12-17 years old) with persistent asthma. Participants used their respective smartphone or paper AAPs for medication instructions and peak flow or asthma symptoms logging. AAP use was measured electronically for smartphone users and via mail-in diaries for the paper group. Changes in Asthma Control Test (ACT) and self-efficacy scores were examined.

Results: Thirty-four adolescents participated in this study (median age, 15.4 years). Participants were mostly African American (62%) with state-issued insurance (71%). Adolescents in the smartphone group accessed the AAP a median of 12.17 times per week or 4.36 days per week but only recorded medications or symptoms and peak flow data in the electronic diary a median of 10 days per month during the 6-month period. Participants in the paper group recorded data a median of 23.5 days per month on their paper diaries. Overall, there were no changes in ACT and self-efficacy scores between groups. Adolescents with uncontrolled asthma (baseline ACT score ≤19) had an improvement in ACT for the smartphone group (before, 11; after, 20) ([P = .04) compared with no change in the paper group (before, 17; after, 17) (P = .64). Adolescent satisfaction with the application was high, with 100% stating they would recommend the smartphone AAP to a friend.

Conclusion: Adolescents were frequent and highly satisfied users of the smartphone AAP with a subset of participants with uncontrolled asthma demonstrating possible clinical benefit. Findings suggest a need for larger-scale studies to determine the effectiveness of smartphone-based AAPs among high-risk patients with asthma.

Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02091869.

Publication types

Clinical Trial
Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Asthma / diagnosis
Asthma / epidemiology*
Asthma / prevention & control
Asthma / therapy
Child
Female
Health Communication* / methods
Humans
Male
Outcome Assessment, Health Care
Patient Satisfaction
Precision Medicine / methods
Self Efficacy
Smartphone*
Socioeconomic Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT02091869
ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT02091869