Asthma

Journal Article

A Clinically Integrated Mhealth App and Practice Model for Collecting Patient-Reported Outcomes Between Visits for Asthma Patients: Implementation and Feasibility

Implementation of a clinically integrated mHealth app and practice model can achieve high patient retention and adherence to guideline-recommended asthma symptom monitoring, while minimally burdening clinicians.

Commentary

At the Nexus of the Health Care System and the Community

Asthma is a common and expensive childhood condition that erodes quality of life for kids and families. Researchers sought to identify patient-centered interventions to reduce avoidable asthma-related acute care use and improve outcomes. They found that the solutions lie at the nexus of the health care system and the community.

Journal Article

Cluster Analysis of Acute Care Use Yields Insights for Tailored Pediatric Asthma Interventions

Care patterns for pediatric asthma can help identify differences between types of patients - and possible ways to reduce avoidable hospitalizations.

Journal Article

Core Components for a Clinically Integrated mHealth App for Asthma Symptom Monitoring

Smartphone-based health apps - using patient reported outcomes - can help asthma patients monitor symptoms between doctor visits.

Commentary

Using Wearable Fitness Devices to Monitor More Than Just Fitness

Manufacturers could reinvigorate the market for personal health devices by incorporating measures of health and well-being beyond step counts. Wearables could gauge a neighborhood's air quality, safety, or its level of social connectedness.

Journal Article

The "Retrofitting" Approach to Adapting Evidence-Based Interventions: A Case Study of Pediatric Asthma Care Coordination, United States, 2010–2014

This case study of pediatric asthma care coordination found preliminary support for the validity of retrofitting concept--adapting evidence-based modifications rather than entirely new interventions.

Journal Article

Understanding Asthma-Specific Quality of Life: Moving Beyond Asthma Symptoms and Severity

This study identifies the unique contributions of asthma severity, symptoms, control and generic measures of quality of life (QoL) to asthma-specific QoL, as measured by the 12-item RAND Negative Impact of Asthma on Quality of Life scale (RAND-IAQL-12).

Journal Article

Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms and Medical Illness Among Adults with Anxiety Disorders

The current study assessed associations between severity of anxiety and depression and the presence of medical conditions in adults diagnosed with anxiety disorders.

Journal Article

Rehospitalization for Childhood Asthma: Timing, Variation, and Opportunities for Intervention

Significant variation in asthma rehospitalization rates exists across children's hospitals from 7 to 365 days after an index admission.

Journal Article

Assessing the Validity of the RAND Negative Impact of Asthma on Quality of Life Short Forms

In response to recommendations from the 2010 National Institutes of Health Asthma Outcomes Workshop, we developed a system for measuring the negative impact of asthma on quality of life (QoL), which was referred to as the RAND Negative Impact of Asthma on Quality of Life (RAND-IAQL) item bank.

Journal Article

Correspondence Between the RAND-negative Impact of Asthma on Quality of Life Item Bank and the Marks Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire

The objective of this article was to provide an example of how to transform scores across disparate measures by using an item response theory (IRT)-based linking method.

Journal Article

Development and Validation of the RAND Asthma Control Measure

The RAND-ACM, a five-item self-reported asthma control survey measure, performs well in a large ethnically-diverse sample of US adults with asthma and provides a cost-free alternative to other asthma control measures currently available.

Commentary

Can the Affordable Care Act Help Asthma Sufferers Breathe Easier?

ACA reforms can potentially address barriers that get in the way of individuals with asthma getting the care they need. At the population level, the law has the potential to improve outcomes and efficiency and equity of services for chronic conditions such as asthma for which cost-effective preventive treatments exist.

Journal Article

Reducing Quality-of-Care Disparities in Childhood Asthma: La Red De Asma Infantil Intervention in San Juan, Puerto Rico

The objective of this study was to describe our experience in reducing quality-of-care disparities among Puerto Rican children with asthma by adapting 2 existing evidence-based asthma interventions.

Journal Article

Developing an Item Bank and Short Forms That Assess the Impact of Asthma on Quality of Life

The present work describes the process of developing an item bank and short forms that measure the impact of asthma on quality of life (QoL) that avoids confounding QoL with asthma symptomatology and functional impairment.

Journal Article

Development of a Measure of Asthma-Specific Quality of Life Among Adults

Items covering a broad range of content were developed that can serve as a valid gauge of individuals' perceptions of the effects of asthma and its treatment on their lives.

Journal Article

Anti-inflammatory Medication Adherence, Healthcare Utilization and Expenditures Among Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program Enrollees with Asthma

Underuse of controller therapy among Medicaid-enrolled children is common and leads to more emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations.

Journal Article

The Association of Health Insurance and Disease Impairment with Reported Asthma Prevalence in U.S. Children

Journal Article

Balancing "Fidelity" and Community Context in the Adaptation of Asthma Evidence-Based Interventions in the "Real World"

The Merck Childhood Asthma Network (MCAN) initiative selected five sites (New York City, Puerto Rico, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia) to engage in translational research to adapt evidence-based interventions (EBIs) to improve childhood asthma outcomes. The authors summarize the sites' experience.

Journal Article

Community-Based Care Coordination: Practical Applications for Childhood Asthma

An alternative approach employs community-based care coordinators who bridge gaps between families, health care providers, and support services. Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc. (MCAN) sites developed community-based care coordination approaches for childhood asthma.