Community Empowerment to Pilot a Novel Device for Monitoring Rescue Medication Use in Urban Children With Asthma

Community Empowerment to Pilot a Novel Device for Monitoring Rescue Medication Use in Urban Children With Asthma

Background: Pediatric asthma is the most common chronic illness among children and is associated with poor quality of life, activity restriction, school absences, and thousands of physician visits annually. The purpose of this study is to measure the effectiveness of using an innovative tracking system (CareTRx) for the self-management of asthma, including daily and rescue medication use, among children and adolescents with pediatric asthma.

The primary study objective is to measure the effectiveness of using an innovative tracking system (CareTRx) for the self-management of asthma, including daily and rescue medication use, among children with asthma. The study objectives will be achieved using a pre-post design for the participants. The investigators aim to enroll at least 26 participants for a 3-month intervention period. With this pilot study, the investigators hope to examine the impact of self-management behaviors on health outcomes including asthma symptoms and quality of life measures.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Youth with a primary diagnosis of persistent asthma according by NHLBI criteria
2. Females or males between the ages of 6-17 years of age
3. Youth or caregiver must have an Android smart phone with operating system 4.3 or above and data plan for the duration of the study period

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Youth with other cardiac, pulmonary, or neuromuscular disorders that impact breathing
2. Youth with documented developmental delays or impairments that would interfere with ability to use CareTRx system