Using the Telephone to Improve Care in Childhood Asthma

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Asthma

In brief

Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood and a major cause of morbidity in the United States. If asthma symptoms are controlled, a child with asthma can stay well and lead a normal life. Daily use of inhaled steroids controls symptoms and reduces morbidity and emergent health care utilization in children with persistent asthma, and is safe for long-term use. However, inhaled steroids are underused in community asthma care. The Telephone Asthma Program (TAP) is a series of brief, telephone calls with a trained coach to help the parent manage the child's asthma care. The coach will teach self-management skills, help the parent to use the child's asthma medicines effectively, provide support and remind the parent to go for follow-up care with the pediatrician. We hypothesized that the Telephone Asthma Program will reduce the incidence of acute exacerbations of asthma that require emergent care, improve the quality of life of children with asthma and their parents, and increase the daily use of inhaled steroids in children with persistent asthma. We evaluated the Telephone Asthma Program in a randomized controlled trial involving 362 children aged 5 to 12 years old cared for by community pediatricians. Eligible children were randomized to the TAP program or usual care by their pediatrician.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00660322

Run by

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

People needed

362

Starts

2004-01-01

Expected to finish

2007-06-01

Last updated by the study team

2008-04-17

Who can join

Age: 5 and older, up to 12. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Physician diagnosis of asthma for at least a year
• At least one acute exacerbation of asthma in past 12 months that required a visit to the emergency department, hospitalization or an unscheduled office visit for acute care and/or a course of oral steroids.
• Taking daily controller medications or symptoms consistent with persistent asthma

You may not qualify if…

• No phone
• Unable to speak English
• Child has another disease that requires regular monitoring by pediatrician
• A sibling is already enrolled in the study
• Child's primary asthma provider is an asthma specialist

Where it is running

• Washington University School of Medicine — St Louis, Missouri, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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