Telephone Coaches to Improve Control of Asthma in Children ( PARTNER) Study)
Condition: Asthma
MeSH terms: Asthma
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Parents of children with asthma must work with their child's pediatrician to ensure that
      their child's asthma is managed well. Asthma coaches are one way to facilitate and support
      the relationship between parents and pediatricians. This study will evaluate whether access
      to a 12-month telephone asthma coaching program for parents is an effective way to improve
      asthma outcomes in children.
    

Detailed description: 
      Asthma is the most common long-term disease among children. Each year, most children with
      asthma will have at least one asthma exacerbation, experience asthma symptoms on
      approximately 100 days, and miss 4 days of school because of asthma. Surveys of primary care
      physicians (PCPs) and asthma patients have indicated that asthma care is episodic, effective
      asthma controller medications are underused, and few PCPs provide self-management education
      or support for parents of children with asthma. Previous research showed that when an asthma
      coach worked with parents of children from low-income, urban neighborhoods, there were
      multiple benefits: improved self-management behaviors, reduced asthma hospitalizations, and
      improved rates of follow-up with a PCP after an emergency department visit for asthma
      symptoms. In this study, researchers will evaluate the effectiveness of an asthma coach
      program in a larger, general asthma population. Trained asthma coaches will work with parents
      of children with asthma to provide education about the goals of asthma care, and they will
      encourage and facilitate an active partnership between the family and PCP to enhance asthma
      care and improve self-management behaviors. Study researchers will then evaluate the
      effectiveness of this program at improving asthma control and quality of life among children
      with asthma. The cost effectiveness of the program will also be analyzed.

      This study will enroll pediatricians and parents of children between 5 and 12 years old who
      have persistent asthma. Pediatricians will be randomly assigned to either the asthma coach
      program or usual care. All pediatricians will receive access to the Education in Quality
      Improvement for Pediatric Practice (eQIPP) module for asthma care provided by the American
      Academy of Pediatrics. They will also receive articles about effective doctor-parent
      communication on asthma and asthma billing practices. In addition, pediatricians taking part
      in the asthma coach program will attend two meetings to learn about asthma coaching and how
      the program can be implemented into their practice. For 12 months, an asthma coach will work
      directly with the parents of children who see doctors participating in the asthma coaching
      group. Telephone calls with the asthma coach will be arranged at times convenient for the
      parent and will occur anywhere between once a week to once a month. At Months 12 and 24,
      about 40 parents of children in each pediatrician's practice will participate in telephone
      interviews and their children's medical charts will be reviewed to assess asthma control,
      asthma-related quality of life factors, and urgent care events.
    

Intervention name(s): Asthma Coaching Program; Usual Care
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Parents will have access to an asthma coach for 12 months. Telephone calls between parents and coaches will occur anywhere from once a week to once a month.; Children of parents enrolled in the study will receive the normal asthma care that their pediatricians usually provide.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Consumer Participation; Telephone Coaching Program