The Effect of Self-care Emphasizing on Balloon-Blowing Exercise Program on Severity of Sleep Apnea and Respiratory Muscle Strength Among School Age Children With Obstructive Sleep Apnea ("SEES")

Chulalongkorn University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Obstructive Sleep Apnea of Child

Treatments: Behavioral: Standard nursing care; Behavioral: Balloon-Blowing exercise program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06780982

829/66

Details and patient eligibility

About

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common condition in school-age children, often leading to sleep disturbances and associated health issues. Non-invasive interventions, such as respiratory muscle training, have shown promise in mitigating the severity of OSA. This study explores the effects of a self-care-focused balloon-blowing exercise program on improving respiratory muscle strength and reducing OSA severity in children.

This research aimed to study the effects of a self-care emphasizing on balloon-blowing exercises program on severity of sleep apnea and respiratory muscle strength in school-aged children diagnosed with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), receiving treatment at the outpatient ENT department at Siriraj Hospital.

Full description

Thirty children participated, divided into two groups: 15 children received the self-care emphasizing on balloon-blowing exercises program for five weeks based on Orem's self-care theory (2001), and 15 children received regular nursing care. The research instruments included a severity assessment scale for apnea and a self-care behavior assessment scale for children with OSA. Both instruments had content validity indexes of 0.95 and 0.80, and their reliability, Cronbach's alpha, were 0.83 and 0.76, respectively. Respiratory muscle strength was measured using a Respiratory Pressure Meter. Data were analyzed using statistical t-tests.

Enrollment: 30 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 6 to 12 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• School-age children aged 6-12 years diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) of mild to moderate severity (AHI 1-9 events/hour).
• Children receiving a consistent medication dosage with no planned adjustments to increase the dosage.
• Fully conscious, with no hearing problems, and able to understand the Thai language.
• Children voluntarily agree to participate in the study, and their parents consent to provide care during the research period.
• Have a smartphone or tablet capable of using the LINE application, with the ability to operate the application under parental supervision.
• Agree to allow the researcher to communicate via LINE and phone calls.

Exclusion criteria

• Children with severe comorbidities or chronic illnesses requiring ongoing treatment.
• Children undergoing treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.
• Children who have engaged in exercise sessions lasting more than 20 minutes per session, at least 3 times per week, within the 6 months prior to the start of data collection.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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30 participants in 2 patient groups

Experimental: Balloon-blowing exercises

Experimental group

Description:

The program begins with a one-on-one session on the first day of the research project and continues with home-based care through the LINE application on a smartphone for 5 weeks. The program consists of four steps: 1. Decision-Making in Self-Care: Discussions to build rapport with the child, assess self-care deficits, and evaluate the child's current self-care behaviors based on their perceptions and experiences. 2. Setting Goals and Planning Self-Care: Explanation self-care behaviors to the child and their parents and collaborate to create a care plan. 3. Self-Care Implementation: The child and parents download educational materials via the LINE application and practicing the balloon-blowing exercise daily for 3 sets of 3 balloons per set (a total of 9 balloons/day), with a 1-minute rest between sets, over a period of 5 weeks. 4. Maintaining Self-Care Behaviors: Encouragements for performing all five behaviors by having the child review materials via the LINE application once a week.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Balloon-Blowing exercise program

Standard nursing care

Experimental group

Description:

The control group received standard nursing care, which involve screening patient records and distributing educational materials in the form of brochures to individual pediatric patients and their parents. The knowledge provided in the brochures includes instructions on how to administer inhaled medication, avoiding allergens, performing facial and neck muscle exercises, and attending follow-up appointments as scheduled.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Standard nursing care