Mobile-based asthma action plans for adolescents.

PURPOSE: To examine feasibility and utilization of a mobile asthma action plan (AAP) among adolescents. METHODS: Adolescents (aged 12-17 years) with persistent asthma had their personalized AAP downloaded to a smartphone application. Teens were prompted by the mobile application to record either daily symptoms or peak flow measurements and to record medications. Once data were entered, the application provided immediate feedback based on the teen's AAP instructions. Asthma Control Test (ACT(®)) and child asthma self-efficacy scores were examined pre- and post-intervention. RESULTS: Adolescents utilized the mobile AAP a median 4.3 days/week. Participant satisfaction was high with 93% stating that they were better able to control asthma by utilizing the mobile AAP. For participants with uncontrolled asthma at baseline, median (interquartile range) ACT scores improved significantly from 16 (5) to 18 (8) [p = 0.03]. Median asthma attack prevention self-efficacy scores improved from 34 (3.5) to 36 (5.3) [p = 0.04]. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that personalized mobile-based AAPs are a feasible method to communicate AAP instructions to teens.

An in-patient model for positive airway pressure desensitization: a report of 2 pediatric cases.

Application of positive airway pressure is frequently indicated in pediatric patients with a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea. Adherence to equipment use is often less than optimal and can be more challenging when working with children with special needs. An in-patient protocol was designed utilizing various techniques and strategies from the medical adherence literature and applied to 2 cases. This protocol utilizes specialists from various disciplines, including respiratory therapists, psychologists, physicians, nurses, and child life therapists, as well as parental involvement. This paper outlines this protocol using 2 case studies. Both patients successfully used their equipment for greater than 4 hours at night by the end of their hospital stay of 4 days and maintained or advanced these gains at follow-up. These 2 cases suggest that more research should be conducted to further evaluate the effectiveness of similar programs.