Using Social Media to Decrease Healthcare Utilization for Pediatric Asthma

Using Social Media to Decrease Healthcare Utilization for Pediatric Asthma: a Pilot Randomized Control Trial

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT05013788

Enrollment

200

Registered

2021-08-19

Start date

2021-10-01

Completion date

2024-09-15

Last updated

2026-02-11

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Asthma in Children

Keywords

Social Media, Pediatric Asthma, Healthcare Utilization

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate if social media enhanced education (SME) will reduce total number of treatment days defined as summation of days of subsequent hospital admission, emergency room visits, and clinic visits, reduce missed school days, reduce total costs from a health system perspective, have increased effect with increased social media engagement, have increased effect in participants with both caregiver and patient (combined) with social media accounts, compared to participants where only the patient or only the caregiver uses social media (single),have increased patient satisfaction in the asthma education received and to obtain the experience and data needed to refine SME to be able to expand this platform for other chronic medical conditions with high healthcare utilization including pediatric diabetes, epilepsy, and sickle cell disease in children with asthma.

Interventions

OTHERSocial Media Enhanced Education

Along with usual asthma education received,participants will receive asthma education via various social media platforms ,Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and/or Snapchat. Topics of education will include background on asthma and pathophysiology, asthma severity classification, asthma triggers, different medications and indications for when to take them, how to use an inhaler technique, and symptom monitoring.Online resources from the American Lung Association and the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program will also be posted.

OTHERUsual Asthma Education

For patients who are admitted to Children's Memorial Hermann for asthma exacerbation, asthma education is provided to patients and families on the day of discharge by the nurse and respiratory therapist on triggers, Signs \& Symptoms, Medication Use, Medication Delivery, Peak Flow, Zones and how to respond to each, and Cleaning equipment.Nursing staff are responsible for printing out education sheets to give to patients and showing an education video that is 20 minutes long. An asthma action plan are given to families on discharge. Patients that are discharged from the emergency room are given the same educational materials by the nurses and/or respiratory therapists except for the asthma video. Patients receive a variable amount of asthma education when going to usual clinic visits. The education provided is dependent on the provider, and usually limited in length to the time of the visit

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

OTHER

Masking

SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

3 Years to 17 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* hospitalized to Children's Memorial Hermann admitted for asthma exacerbation * patient and/or primary caregiver must have internet access on cellular phones or at home and use a social media account (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and/or Snapchat)

Exclusion criteria

* other chronic conditions besides asthma that may necessitate frequent health care utilization. i.e. children with complex chronic conditions, sickle cell, seizures, diabetes.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Total Number of Treatment Days in a Medical Setting (Hospital, Emergency Department (ED), Clinic)	1 year after enrollment	Treatment days are defined as the summation of days in the hospital, ED, or in the clinic.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Total Estimated Health System Costs, Hospital Costs, and Clinic Costs	1 year after enrollment	—
Number of Days Hospitalized	1 year after enrollment	—
Number of Participants With Hospital Readmissions	1 year after enrollment	—
Number of Participants With Emergency Room Visits	1 year after enrollment	—
Total Number of Clinic Visits	1 year after enrollment	—
Number of Missed Days of School	1 year after enrollment	—
Patient Satisfaction and Understanding of Asthma Education	1 year after enrollment	This outcome was assessed using a questionnaire item asking, "How satisfied are you with the amount of asthma education provided to you?" The question is scored from 1 to 5, a higher number indicating a better outcome.

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORMonica Kodakandla, MD

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Participant flow

Participants by arm

Arm	Count
Treatment Social Media Enhanced Education: Along with usual asthma education received,participants will receive asthma education via various social media platforms ,Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and/or Snapchat. Topics of education will include background on asthma and pathophysiology, asthma severity classification, asthma triggers, different medications and indications for when to take them, how to use an inhaler technique, and symptom monitoring.Online resources from the American Lung Association and the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program will also be posted.	104
Control Group Usual Asthma Education: For patients who are admitted to Children's Memorial Hermann for asthma exacerbation, asthma education is provided to patients and families on the day of discharge by the nurse and respiratory therapist on triggers, Signs & Symptoms, Medication Use, Medication Delivery, Peak Flow, Zones and how to respond to each, and Cleaning equipment.Nursing staff are responsible for printing out education sheets to give to patients and showing an education video that is 20 minutes long. An asthma action plan are given to families on discharge. Patients that are discharged from the emergency room are given the same educational materials by the nurses and/or respiratory therapists except for the asthma video. Patients receive a variable amount of asthma education when going to usual clinic visits. The education provided is dependent on the provider, and usually limited in length to the time of the visit	96
Total	200

Baseline characteristics

Characteristic	Treatment	Total	Control Group
Age, Continuous	7.33 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 3.57	7.31 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 3.69	7.29 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 3.84
Race (NIH/OMB) American Indian or Alaska Native	0 Participants	0 Participants	0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) Asian	5 Participants	17 Participants	12 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) Black or African American	56 Participants	105 Participants	49 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) More than one race	0 Participants	0 Participants	0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	0 Participants	0 Participants	0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported	21 Participants	39 Participants	18 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) White	22 Participants	39 Participants	17 Participants
Region of Enrollment United States	104 participants	200 participants	96 participants
Sex: Female, Male Female	54 Participants	102 Participants	48 Participants
Sex: Female, Male Male	50 Participants	98 Participants	48 Participants

Adverse events

Event type	EG000 affected / at risk	EG001 affected / at risk
deaths Total, all-cause mortality	0 / 104	1 / 96
other Total, other adverse events	0 / 104	0 / 96
serious Total, serious adverse events	11 / 104	16 / 96