Asthma in Pregnancy
Condition: Asthma; Pregnancy
MeSH terms: Asthma
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      The long-term goal is to improve the care of patients with asthma. The overarching objective
      of this pilot grant is to test the feasibility, acceptability and potential clinical utility
      of deploying a mobile-health intervention to improve asthma surveillance.
    

Detailed description: 
      Asthma is a major cause of morbidity. Asthma is frequently underdiagnosed, and proven
      therapies are underused. Even among patients treated for asthma, adherence to treatment is
      often is suboptimal.

      Adherence to asthma therapy depends not only on regular use of therapies, but also correct
      technique for inhaler use. To improve treatments, home-based interventions have been
      proposed. Many such solutions involve collecting patient data to motivate patients and alert
      providers to ongoing problems. Examples of proposed solutions include using an app to keep
      symptom and medication logs, using Fitbits to document physical limitations, and nighttime
      breathing sensors. Other proposals include using peak expiratory flow meters, portable
      spirometers, and portable oscillometry. While promising, most of these efforts have, to date,
      not expanded widely beyond research settings.

      Asthma during pregnancy is especially important to treat. Uncontrolled asthma is associated
      with preeclampsia, low birth weight, and fetal death. For some patients asthma is less severe
      during pregnancy, but for others, asthma worsens. In addition, pregnant patients with asthma
      often decrease use of medication or stop therapy altogether. Many pregnant patients stop
      therapy due to worry about negative effects on the baby. In general, asthma therapy is safe
      for pregnant patients and the babies, and hypoxia is dangerous for both.

      Despite the importance of asthma treatment during pregnancy, some healthcare providers do not
      encourage pregnant patients with asthma to continue with asthma treatment. Many providers do
      not feel qualified to educate and treat patients during pregnancy, and pregnant patients may
      not be adequately informed that asthma therapy is safe. Also, pregnant patients may minimize
      their symptoms if worried about the safety of therapies. Accordingly, collecting objective
      information from patients in the home environment could improve the health of pregnant
      patients and the babies. Home monitoring may be especially important for patients living in
      rural areas with limited access to healthcare.

      Home measurements of asthma symptoms can supplement clinic visits. However, this approach
      requires disciplined follow-up on the part of both patients and the healthcare team. Patients
      are required to use peak flow meters and regularly share results with providers. In addition,
      healthcare providers need to act on the shared data.

      The purpose of this study is to determine if patients with asthma (pregnant and not pregnant)
      will take daily measurements with a peak flow meter and return them to the research team.
    

Observational model: Case-Control
Time perspective: Prospective
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Pregnant and Not Pregnant participants with an Asthma diagnosis.