itracc (improving technology-assisted recording of asthma control in children)

Conditions: Asthma

Summary: the goal of this study is to determine whether a sensor-enabled, clinically integrated, mobile health asthma program can improve asthma outcomes among 4-17 year old children with moderate-to-severe asthma.

primary aims: * assess whether asthma control in patients enrolled in the intervention arm improved in comparison to the control arm through the (act) measurement tool. * assess healthcare utilization (asthma-related ed visits and hospitalizations, asthma-related oral corticosteroid use) obtained through electronic medical record and parent report. secondary aims: investigators will use parent-report surveys of the following psycho-social outcome measures: * days missed from school due to asthma; 2) pediatric asthma-related quality of life (pacqlq); and 3) parental asthma management self-efficacy (pamse). * enhance parental management through improved inhaler use. the investigators will use the propeller sensor platform (referenced as remote health management platform) to allow parents to track their child's ics and saba inhaler use daily. the platform also will have specific educational messaging to help parents and their children achieve adherence to their prescribed plan. this constant feedback and reinforcement may lead to improved asthma control therefore reducing frequency and severity of asthma exacerbations. the investigators will also be assessing the factors associated with the feasibility and sustainability of the propeller sensor platform by observing trends in utilization. utilization and drop-off will be measured by monitoring use of the inhalers and periodic surveys of families. * improve management by the healthcare team. the investigators will use the remote health management platform to integrate inhaler use data into a web portal that the physician's office can access. through the development of this interface, the propeller sensor platform will be able to provide inhaler use feedback to healthcare teams. types of feedback: * emergency management: data on inhaled corticosteroids (ics) and short-acting beta-agonist (saba) use * long-term management: data on ics and saba use. this interface will include data on both ics and saba inhaler use. the interface will also have flags to notify the office of under or overuse of inhalers, with a protocol in place to reach out to patients. the investigators will also be assessing the factors associated with the feasibility and sustainability of the remote health management platform by the healthcare team. this will be done by weekly contact with the healthcare team, rapid cycle improvement of the web portal, and written assessments.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * english-speaking parents * children 4-\<17 years of age. using both nhlbi (national heart, lung, and blood institute) guidelines and based off of a physician expert panel, the research team has limited the ages to 4-\<17 years old. it has been shown to be difficult to properly diagnose individuals less than 4 years of age with asthma. usually, they are diagnosed with reactive airway disease or bronchial virus. individuals \<17 years old was the oldest group because investigators wanted to avoid adolescence and make sure that parents have an active role in the health management of the child. * moderate or severe persistent asthma, defined by the national heart, lung, and blood institute. this will be done by a physician-trained research assistant who will be able to identify potential participants prior to recruitment. * at least one asthma exacerbations that required a course of oral corticosteroids in the past year * prescription and utilization of an ics inhaler for at least the past year. * who are seen at: clark and deming resident clinic, lurie children's pulmonary clinic, lurie children's uptown clinic, chicago family asthma and allergy clinic or children's healthcare associates exclusion criteria: * non-english speaking parents/families * patients seen in the hospital who receive primary care outside of the study's clinics * children with any comorbid conditions, which interfere with appropriate assessment of asthma symptoms: chronic lung disease, broncho-pulmonary dysplasia, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, interstitial lung disease, immunodeficiency, bronchiectasis, primary ciliary dyskinesia, chronic respiratory insufficiency, neuromuscular weakness, sickle cell lung disease, restrictive lung disease, and tracheostomy or ventilator-dependence * child-patients who are participating in any other research studies that would interfere with our ability to use and track the inhaler sensor