Effect of the School-Based Telemedicine Enhanced Asthma Management (SB-TEAM) Program on Asthma Morbidity

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by Jill S. Halterman, MD, MPH; Maria Fagnano, MPH; Reynaldo S. Tajon, BA; Paul Tremblay, RN; HongyueWang, PhD; Arlene Butz, ScD, RN; Tamara T. Perry, MD; Kenneth M. McConnochie, MD, MPH, As published in the Journal of Asthma Nov. 30, 2017, DOI: 10.1080/02770903.2017.1396472

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IMPORTANCE

Poor adherence to recommended preventive asthma medications is common leading to preventable morbidity. We developed the School-Based Telemedicine Enhanced Asthma Management (SB-TEAM) program to build on school-based supervised therapy programs by incorporating telemedicine at school to overcome barriers to preventive asthma care.

 

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of the SB-TEAM program on asthma morbidity among urban children with persistent asthma.

 

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

In this randomized clinical trial, children with persistent asthma aged 3 to 10 years in the Rochester City School District in Rochester, New York, were stratified by preventive medication use at baseline and randomly assigned to the SB-TEAM program or enhanced usual care for 1 school year. Participants were enrolled at the beginning of the school year (2012-2016), and outcomes were assessed through the end of the school year. Data were analyzed between May 2017 and November 2017 using multivariable modified intention-to-treat analyses.