Abstract | RATIONALE:
Asthma prevalence and morbidity are especially elevated in adolescents, yet few interventions target this population. OBJECTIVES: To test the efficacy of Asthma Self-Management for Adolescents ( ASMA), a school-based intervention for adolescents and medical providers. METHODS: Three hundred forty-five primarily Latino/a (46%) and African American (31%) high school students (mean age = 15.1 yr; 70% female) reporting an asthma diagnosis, symptoms of moderate to severe persistent asthma, and asthma medication use in the last 12 months were randomized to ASMA, an 8-week school-based intervention, or a wait-list control group. They were followed for 12 months. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Students completed bimonthly assessments. Baseline, 6-month, and 12-month assessments were comprehensive; the others assessed interim health outcomes and urgent health care use. Primary outcomes were asthma self-management, symptom frequency, and quality of life (QOL); secondary outcomes were asthma medical management, school absences, days with activity limitations, and urgent health care use. Relative to control subjects, ASMA students reported significantly: more confidence to manage their asthma; taking more steps to prevent symptoms; greater use of controller medication and written treatment plans; fewer night awakenings, days with activity limitation, and school absences due to asthma; improved QOL; and fewer acute care visits, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations. In contrast, steps to manage asthma episodes, daytime symptom frequency, and school-reported absences did not differentiate the two groups. Most results were sustained over the 12 months. CONCLUSIONS:
ASMA is efficacious in improving asthma self-management and reducing asthma morbidity and urgent health care use in low-income urban minority adolescents.
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Authors | Jean-Marie Bruzzese, Beverley J Sheares, Elisa J Vincent, Yunling Du, Hossein Sadeghi, Moshe J Levison, Robert B Mellins, David Evans |
Journal | American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
(Am J Respir Crit Care Med)
Vol. 183
Issue 8
Pg. 998-1006
(Apr 15 2011)
ISSN: 1535-4970 [Electronic] United States |
PMID | 21139088
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
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Chemical References |
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Topics |
- Adolescent
- Black or African American
- Anti-Asthmatic Agents
(therapeutic use)
- Asthma
(drug therapy, prevention & control, therapy)
- Emergency Medical Services
(statistics & numerical data)
- Female
- Hispanic or Latino
- Humans
- Male
- Patient Education as Topic
(methods)
- Quality of Life
- Schools
- Self Care
(methods, statistics & numerical data)
- Treatment Outcome
- Urban Population
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