Mobile Technology and Online Tools to Improve Asthma Control in Adolescents (CampAirPilot)

3-C Institute

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 2

Conditions: Asthma

Treatments: Behavioral: Information and Referral; Behavioral: CampAir

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Industry

Identifiers

NCT02835300

R44HL127826 Pilot

R44HL127826 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

This project will preliminarily validate CampAir, an empirically-based dynamic e-health intervention (based on the evidence-based ASMA) to assist adolescents with uncontrolled asthma to learn how to manage their illness and improve their asthma control. In addition to developing a highly novel product for adolescents with asthma, the research proposed for this project will address unique scientific questions. Despite the high asthma prevalence among adolescents, few interventions have specifically targeted adolescents. This study is innovative in that it is among the few to focus on adolescents, who are often overlooked by the healthcare system. This research will assess factors associated with successful implementation of CampAir, thereby providing new information regarding how e-health interventions can be effectively developed and implemented for use with adolescents with asthma.

Full description

Asthma has high prevalence and morbidity among adolescents, especially urban Hispanic and African American teenagers. Despite this, few interventions have specifically targeted adolescents. School-based and web-based asthma interventions have shown to be effective with younger children, yet few have been developed and tested for adolescents. Investigators have developed Camp Air, an engaging dynamic e-learning intervention to help adolescents with uncontrolled asthma to manage their illness and to improve their asthma control. Camp Air consists of seven online modules with one module being completed each week over seven weeks. Each module provides a brief introduction to the topics and strategies focused on in that module followed by a set of interactive exercises and games for practice and personalized feedback. The investigators will conduct a two group randomized pilot trial with up to 80, 9th - 12th graders with uncontrolled asthma in order (a) to assess the preliminary intervention effects of Camp Air, and (b) to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of Camp Air. In order to evaluate CAMP Air's utility as both a school- and home-based intervention, adolescents will be enrolled from two sites: 1) NYC public schools (n=up to 38), or 2) the national asthma community at large (n=up to 42). Investigators will also evaluate the reach, acceptability, generalizability, and sustainability of Camp Air using the RE-AIM approach. Investigators hypothesize that over one month post-intervention, relative to controls, Camp Air participants will show significantly greater improvement in asthma-related outcomes. Investigators also hypothesize that ratings and software usage indices will demonstrate that Camp Air is a feasible, usable, and acceptable intervention for use with adolescents. Investigators will also explore evidence of a dose-response in which participants who spend more time engaged with the e-training materials show greater positive change.

Enrollment: 79 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 13 to 18 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Ages 13 - 18 years
• Prior asthma diagnosis
• Use of a prescribed asthma medication in the past 12 months
• Uncontrolled asthma, defined as (1) daytime symptoms 3+ days per week, (2) night awakenings 1+ nights per week, or (3) 2+ exacerbation events, i.e. 2+ steroid bursts; 2+ emergency department visits, or 1+ hospitalization for asthma.

Exclusion criteria

• Co-morbid diseases that affect lung functioning

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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79 participants in 2 patient groups

CampAir Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

Adolescents assigned to receive ASMA 2.0 will receive all seven modules over the two month trial, completing one module per week. Adolescents will be assigned one module per week, but will have free access to all completed modules for the duration of the two-month trial. Each module is expected to take between 30-40 minutes to complete, although adolescents will be able to engage with the software for as long as desired.

Treatment:

Behavioral: CampAir

Information and Referral Control

Active Comparator group

Description:

Adolescents assigned to the information-and-referral control condition will be provided access to existing generic asthma education websites. They will also be referred to their medical providers for asthma. After the completion of the trial, all participants will receive access to CampAir.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Information and Referral