Feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a school-based intervention for inner-city, ethnic minority adolescents with undiagnosed asthma.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To describe and test the feasibility of asthma self-management for adolescents with undiagnosed asthma (ASMA-Undx), an 8-week school-based intervention for urban adolescents comprised of three group and five individual coaching sessions, and academic detailing for their primary care providers (PCPs).

METHODS:

Thirty high school students (mean age 15.9; 92% female; 72% Latino/a) who reported symptoms of persistent asthma, but no diagnosis were randomized to ASMA-Undx or a no-treatment control group. Interviews were conducted pre- and post-intervention.

RESULTS:

All intervention students participated in the three group sessions; 64% received all five individual coaching sessions. Academic detailing telephone calls made by a pediatric pulmonologist reached 83% of the students' PCPs. Relative to controls, a significantly greater proportion of ASMA-Undx students were diagnosed (79% versus 6%, respectively), and prescribed asthma medication (57% versus 6%, respectively). Barriers to diagnosis and treatment included students' and parents' lack of knowledge about asthma.

CONCLUSION:

ASMA-Undx is a feasible and promising intervention to assist urban adolescents with undiagnosed asthma obtain a diagnosis and treatment.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS:

ASMA-Undx has the potential to reach many adolescents because it is school-based. It can serve as a model for interventions targeting other pediatric illnesses.

• Authors: Jean-Marie Bruzzese, Sharon Kingston, Beverley J Sheares, Amarilis Cespedes, Hossein Sadeghi, David Evans
• Journal: Patient education and counseling (Patient Educ Couns) Vol. 85 Issue 2 Pg. 290-4 (Nov 2011) ISSN: 1873-5134 [Electronic] Ireland
• PMID: 20970946 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Topics

• Adolescent
• Asthma (diagnosis, ethnology, prevention & control)
• Feasibility Studies
• Female
• Humans
• Interviews as Topic
• Male
• Minority Groups
• Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care
• Patient Education as Topic
• Pilot Projects
• Primary Health Care
• School Health Services (organization & administration)
• Urban Population