Document Type
Article
Abstract
Background
Real-world evidence for digitally-supported asthma programs among Medicaid-enrolled children remains limited. Using data from a collaborative quality improvement program, we evaluated the impact of a digital intervention on asthma inhaler use among children in southwest Detroit.
Methods
Children (6–13 years) enrolled with Kids Health Connection (KHC), a program involving home visits with an asthma educator, were invited to participate in a digital self-management asthma program (Propeller Health). Patients were provided with a sensor to capture short-acting beta-agonist (SABA) medication use, and given access to a paired mobile app to track usage. Patients’ healthcare providers and caregivers (“followers”) were invited to view data as well. Retrospective paired t-tests assessed change in mean SABA use and SABA-free days (SFD) over time, and regressions explored the relationship between followers and medication use.
Results
Fifty-one patients were assessed. Mean program participation was nine months, and patients had on average 3 followers. From the first to last participation month, mean SABA use decreased from 0.68 to 0.25 puffs/day (p<0.001), and mean SFD increased from 25.2 to 28.1 days/month (p<0.001). 76% of patients had an increase in the number of SFD. There was a positive, but non-significant, relationship between the number of followers and reductions in SABA inhaler use.
Conclusions
We observed a significant reduction in SABA inhaler use and an increase in the number of SABA-free days among Medicaid-enrolled children enrolled in a multi-modal digital asthma program.
Disciplines
Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Health Policy | Maternal and Child Health | Urban Studies | Urban Studies and Planning
Recommended Citation
Barrett, M., Gondalia, R., Vuong, V., Kaye, L., Hill, A. B., Attisha, E., & Holtrop, T. (2023). Retrospective assessment of a collaborative digital asthma program for Medicaid-enrolled children in southwest Detroit: reductions in short-acting beta-agonist (SABA) medication use. Asthma Research and Practice, 9(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs40733-023-00092-0
Included in
Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Health Policy Commons, Maternal and Child Health Commons, Urban Studies Commons, Urban Studies and Planning Commons
Comments
© The Author(s) 2023. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), and indicate if changes were made (no changes were made).