A digital health application for managing pediatric asthma: Use and benefits

ABSTRACT

Childhood asthma is a common and serious chronic lung disease. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies may assist clinical providers, caregivers, and children in managing pediatric asthma. This study evaluated the Nemours app, an mHealth application. We examined: a) frequency of data access by providers and feature use by caregivers (parents/legal guardians) of 5–11-year-old children diagnosed with asthma and b) whether utilization was related to benefits. Nine providers (allergists/pulmonologists) and 80 patient-families (caregiver/child dyads) participated. Two-years of retrospective data were obtained for asthma control, in-person urgent healthcare utilization, and app utilization. Six-months of prospective data included asthma control, in-person urgent healthcare utilization, app utilization, surveys, and health literacy screeners. Providers (56%) accessed app data and caregivers (61%) utilized the app. Caregiver use of messaging feature predicted gains in health literacy scores (b = .44, p = .041), suggesting app use may offer some educational benefits. Implementation of strategies that support app engagement and utilization may help to maximize intended benefits.

KEYWORDS:

• Mobile health (mHealth)
• pediatric asthma
• app use
• asthma management

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support of the Nemours Foundation, the Nemours Center for Health Delivery Innovation, the research study team, and the clinical providers and patient-families who participated, without whom this research would not be possible.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data and analysis codes may be utilized upon request by emailing the corresponding author.

Notes

1 Asthma control level determined by mean C-ACT scores, scores ≤ 19 considered uncontrolled.²⁵

2 Paired-sample t-test showed no significant difference between Time 1 and Time 2 health literacy scores.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Nemours Foundation.