AAAAI: Novel Interventions May Benefit Asthmatic Teens
MONDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- MP3 technology and sports camps may be two means of improving asthma education in teenagers, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology held March 13 to 17 in Washington, D.C.
In one study, Giselle S. Mosnaim, M.D., and colleagues conducted an eight-week study in which four low-income black adolescents aged 12 to 18 received 10 to 15 MP3 tracks with coping messages recorded by their peers as well as twice-daily phone messages to use their inhaled corticosteroids. The researchers found that treatment adherence improved from less than 40 percent to more than 70 percent, and that asthma control scores improved from 19 to more than 20.
In a second study, N. Banner and researchers from Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh studied 21 children aged 6 to 12 who were enrolled in a day-long camp that included comprehensive asthma education along with basketball training. Although the intervention had no impact on inhaled corticosteroid adherence, the researchers found that physician visits significantly declined among participants and that there was a trend toward decreased emergency department visits.
"Future studies are currently underway to expand this sample size and evaluate other outcomes," Banner and colleagues conclude. "If proven successful, this model could be of great value in improving long-term outcomes in children with asthma."
