Foster care leads to sustained cognitive gains following severe early deprivation.

This study examined longitudinal data from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, a randomized controlled trial of foster care as an alternative to institutional care following exposure to severe psychosocial deprivation. We report data from 135 participants assessed in early adulthood (age 18 y). We find that 16 y after randomization occurred, those who had been randomized to high-quality foster care had significantly higher IQ scores (9 points, 0.6 SD) than those randomized to care as usual. Mediation analyses provide evidence that the causal effect of the intervention on cognitive ability in early adulthood could be explained, in part, by higher-quality caregiving and attachment security. These findings indicate that early investment in family care as an alternative to institutional care leads to sustained gains in cognitive ability. Fostering caregiving relationships is a likely mechanism of the intervention. In addition, exploratory analyses indicate that stable placements throughout childhood are associated with the greatest long-term gains in cognitive ability. Whether early interventions for infants and young children lead to lasting change has significant implications for decisions to invest in programs aimed at improving children's developmental outcomes.

The Management of Pediatric Asthma Using Telehealth: An Integrative Review.

Introduction: Asthma is one of the most chronic noncommunicable diseases of childhood, affecting 1 in 12 children in the United States. The use of telemedicine for the management of pediatric asthma has shown improved health outcomes; however, it is important to understand what can impact its acceptance. The purpose of this review was to identify the facilitators and barriers to pediatric asthma management, as viewed by stakeholders. Methods: An electronic literature search was performed using PubMed, Scopus, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Complete. Articles included in the review contained perceptions of the use of telemedicine for the management of pediatric asthma, as viewed by stakeholders. The socioecological model was used as the theoretical framework to extract data based on its five levels. Results: After reviewing full texts of 143 articles, 118 were excluded, leaving 25 articles included in this review. A majority of included articles focused on mobile health (m-Health) studies for the management of pediatric asthma, with the remaining articles studying synchronous telemedicine or a combination of modalities. Common themes were identified; however, most were focused on the use of m-Health and few studies contained the viewpoints of the caregiver, children, or providers regarding synchronous telemedicine. Discussion: This integrative review identified a number of facilitators and barriers for the management of asthma using telemedicine. However, more qualitative studies are needed to evaluate the perceptions of caregivers, patients, and primary providers regarding synchronous telehealth. It was also recognized that telemedicine may increase instead of reduce health care disparities.

Capacity assessment and spatial analysis of cervical cancer services in The Gambia.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death in Gambian women. The Gambian Ministry of Health is striving to improve access to screening, diagnostic, and treatment services for cervical cancer, but comprehensive data on currently available services is limited making it challenging to appropriately prioritize the ideal next steps for expanding care. This study aims to describe the current services available for the prevention, screening, and treatment of cervical cancer in The Gambia and provide suggestions for expanding geographic access to care. METHODS: A survey aimed at assessing the availability of key cervical cancer-related services was developed and then administered in person by research assistants to all secondary and tertiary health facilities (HFs) in The Gambia. ArcGIS Pro Software and 2020 LandScan population density raster were used to visualize and quantify geographic access to care. Survey results were compared with published targets outlined by the Gambian Ministry of Health in the "Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of Cervical Cancer in The Gambia: 2016-2020." RESULTS: One hundred and two HFs were surveyed including 12 hospitals, 3 major health centers, 56 minor health centers, and 31 medical centers/clinics. Seventy-eight of these HFs provided some form of cervical cancer-related service. HPV vaccination was available in all health regions. Two-thirds of the population lived within 10 km of a HF that offered screening for cervical cancer and half lived within 10 km of a HF that offered treatment for precancerous lesions. Ten HFs offered hysterectomy, but nine were located in the same region. Two HFs offered limited chemotherapy. Radiotherapy was not available. If all major health centers and hospitals started offering visual inspection with acetic acid and cryotherapy, 86.1% of the population would live within 25 km of a HF with both services. CONCLUSIONS: Geographic access to cervical cancer screening, and precancer treatment is relatively widespread across The Gambia, but targeted expansion in line with the country's "Strategic Plan" would improve access for central and eastern Gambia. The availability of treatment services for invasive cancer is limited, and establishing radiotherapy in the country should continue to be prioritized.

General and subspecialist pediatrician perspectives on barriers and strategies for referral: a latent profile analysis.

BACKGROUND: Children in need of pediatric subspecialty care may encounter multiple barriers, and multiple strategies have been suggested to improve access. The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of general and subspecialty pediatric physicians regarding barriers to subspecialty care and the value of strategies to improve subspecialty access. METHODS: We surveyed a national sample of 1680 general pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists in May and June 2020 regarding 11 barriers to subspecialty care and 9 strategies to improve access to subspecialty care, selected from recent literature. Using latent profile analysis, respondents were grouped according to the degree to which they believed each of the barriers impacted access to subspecialty care. Using chi-squared tests, we compared the profiles based on respondent characteristics and perspectives on strategies to improve access. RESULTS: The response rate was 17%. In 263 responses completed and eligible for inclusion, the barriers most frequently described as "major problems" were wait times (57%), lack of subspecialists (45%) and difficulty scheduling (41%). Respondents were classified into 4 profiles: "Broad concerns," "Subspecialist availability concerns," "Clinician communication concerns," and "Few concerns." These profiles varied significantly by respondent specialty (p < .001, with medical subspecialists overrepresented in the "Clinician communication" profile, psychiatrists in the "subspecialist availability" profile, and surgeons in the "few concerns" profile); and by respondents' typical wait time for appointments (p < .001, with physicians with the longest wait times overrepresented in the "subspecialist availability" profile). CONCLUSIONS: We found specific profiles in clinician views regarding barriers to subspecialty care which were associated with perspectives on strategies aimed at overcoming these barriers. These results suggest that health systems aiming to improve subspecialty access should first identify the barriers and preferences specific to local clinicians.

Telehealth Policy and the Advanced Practice Nurse.

Telehealth is an efficient and effective method of care delivery used by advance practice registered nurses (APRNs) nationally, especially in the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. With the ever-changing rules and regulations governing telehealth practice, the APRN may struggle to keep abreast. Telehealth is governed by legislation and regulation in addition to telehealth-specific laws. APRNs delivering care through telehealth must be informed about the crucial aspects of telehealth policy and how their practice is affected. Telehealth-related policy is complex and evolving and varies by state. This article provides APRNs with essential knowledge about telehealth-related policy to support legal and regulatory compliance.

SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells are rapidly expanded for therapeutic use and target conserved regions of the membrane protein.

T-cell responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been described in recovered patients, and may be important for immunity following infection and vaccination as well as for the development of an adoptive immunotherapy for the treatment of immunocompromised individuals. In this report, we demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells can be expanded from convalescent donors and recognize immunodominant viral epitopes in conserved regions of membrane, spike, and nucleocapsid. Following in vitro expansion using a good manufacturing practice-compliant methodology (designed to allow the rapid translation of this novel SARS-CoV-2 T-cell therapy to the clinic), membrane, spike, and nucleocapsid peptides elicited interferon-γ production, in 27 (59%), 12 (26%), and 10 (22%) convalescent donors (respectively), as well as in 2 of 15 unexposed controls. We identified multiple polyfunctional CD4-restricted T-cell epitopes within a highly conserved region of membrane protein, which induced polyfunctional T-cell responses, which may be critical for the development of effective vaccine and T-cell therapies. Hence, our study shows that SARS-CoV-2 directed T-cell immunotherapy targeting structural proteins, most importantly membrane protein, should be feasible for the prevention or early treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection in immunocompromised patients with blood disorders or after bone marrow transplantation to achieve antiviral control while mitigating uncontrolled inflammation.

Disrupted caregiving behavior as a mediator of the relation between disrupted prenatal maternal representations and toddler social-emotional functioning.

The development of maternal representations of the child during pregnancy guides a mother's thoughts, feelings, and behavior toward her child. The association between prenatal representations, particularly those that are disrupted, and toddler social-emotional functioning is not well understood. The present study examined associations between disrupted prenatal representations and toddler social-emotional functioning and to test disrupted maternal behavior as a mediator of this association. Data were drawn from 109 women from a larger prospective longitudinal study (N=120) of women and their young children. Prenatal disrupted maternal representations were assessed using the Working Model of the Child Interview disrupted coding scheme, while disrupted maternal behavior was coded 12-months postpartum from mother-infant interactions. Mother-reported toddler social-emotional functioning was assessed at ages 12 and 24 months. Disrupted prenatal representations significantly predicted poorer toddler social-emotional functioning at 24 months, controlling for functioning at 12 months. Further, disrupted maternal behavior mediated the relation between disrupted prenatal representations and toddler social-emotional problems. Screening for disrupted representations during pregnancy is needed to facilitate referrals to early intervention and decrease the likelihood of toddler social-emotional problems.

Telehealth Professionalism Education for Advanced Practice Nursing Students.

ABSTRACT: Telehealth professionalism is an often-overlooked element when performing telehealth visits, but it is one that can impact patient and provider satisfaction with this health care delivery modality. This article describes a telehealth professionalism activity that was integrated into the education of advanced practice registered nursing students as one part of their telehealth education. Attainment in knowledge with this activity, in conjunction with positive student feedback, shows promise regarding the impact of the educational intervention and its sustainability.

Interim Estimates of Vaccine Effectiveness of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 Vaccines in Preventing SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Health Care Personnel, First Responders, and Other Essential and Frontline Workers - Eight U.S. Locations, December 2020-March 2021.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) and mRNA-1273 (Moderna) COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to be effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in randomized placebo-controlled Phase III trials (1,2); however, the benefits of these vaccines for preventing asymptomatic and symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) infection, particularly when administered in real-world conditions, is less well understood. Using prospective cohorts of health care personnel, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers* in eight U.S. locations during December 14, 2020-March 13, 2021, CDC routinely tested for SARS-CoV-2 infections every week regardless of symptom status and at the onset of symptoms consistent with COVID-19-associated illness. Among 3,950 participants with no previous laboratory documentation of SARS-CoV-2 infection, 2,479 (62.8%) received both recommended mRNA doses and 477 (12.1%) received only one dose of mRNA vaccine.† Among unvaccinated participants, 1.38 SARS-CoV-2 infections were confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) per 1,000 person-days.§ In contrast, among fully immunized (≥14 days after second dose) persons, 0.04 infections per 1,000 person-days were reported, and among partially immunized (≥14 days after first dose and before second dose) persons, 0.19 infections per 1,000 person-days were reported. Estimated mRNA vaccine effectiveness for prevention of infection, adjusted for study site, was 90% for full immunization and 80% for partial immunization. These findings indicate that authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are effective for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection, regardless of symptom status, among working-age adults in real-world conditions. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all eligible persons.

Current Status of CAR T Cell Therapy for Leukemias.

OPINION STATEMENT: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has become the standard of care for children and young adults with relapsed and refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), and it is a highly promising therapy under investigation for adults with relapsed disease. Despite having potentially life-threatening toxicities, such as cytokine release syndrome and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome, the benefits of CAR T-cell therapy far outweigh these risks, particularly as increased experience and improved supportive care measures are mitigating these toxicities. CAR T cells can result in complete remission for significant proportion of patients with relapsed and refractory B-ALL and permit them to proceed to potentially curative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). CAR T cells may also be curative by themselves. Herein lie the greatest challenges and questions for clinical investigators, specifically, how are CAR T cells best employed and how do we overcome mechanisms of resistance to them? The primary clinical question is the timing and even the necessity of allo-HSCT. Relative to resistance, we know that target antigen loss, specifically CD19, is a major contributor to resistance. However, current investigations of alternative targets, such CD22, and CAR T cells expressing dual targeting antigen receptors have demonstrated encouraging initial results and provide a high degree of optimism that the efficacy and the broader application of CAR T-cell therapy will gradually increase in B-ALL. That optimism is not as high and the challenges are increased for the application of CAR T cells in T-cell leukemias and acute myeloid leukemia due to the relative lack of suitable leukemia surface targets that are not also expressed on normal hematopoietic progenitors. Despite these significant challenges, considerable research is being conducted into the development of CAR T cells for these diseases utilizing unique technologies, which may be applicable to other diseases.

Early caregiving quality predicts consistency of competent functioning from middle childhood to adolescence following early psychosocial deprivation.

Adverse developmental outcomes for some children following institutional care are well established. Removal from institutional care and placement into families can promote recovery. However, little is known about how positive outcomes are sustained across adolescence among children with histories of severe deprivation. The present study examined the caregiving conditions that are associated with attaining and maintaining competent functioning (i.e., outcomes within typical levels) from middle childhood to adolescence following exposure to early institutional care. The participants included children with and without a history of institutional care who had competence assessed at ages 8, 12, and 16 years across seven domains: family relationships, peer relationships, academic performance, physical health, mental health, substance use (ages 12 and 16 years only), and risk-taking behavior. The participants were grouped based on whether they were always versus not always competent and never versus ever competent at ages 8 through 16 years. Adolescents with a history of institutional care were less likely to be consistently competent than those who were family reared. Among those who were exposed to early institutional rearing, maintaining competent functioning from 8 to 16 years was associated with spending less time in institutions and receiving higher-quality caregiving early in life. Ensuring high quality early caregiving may promote competent functioning following early deprivation.

Integration of Telehealth Education into the Health Care Provider Curriculum: A Review.

Introduction: Telehealth is a rapidly expanding health care delivery modality with increasing utility in the health care community. It is imperative that telehealth education is provided during the training of health care providers to ensure the proper usage and application of this health care delivery system. A comprehensive literature review of telehealth education integrated into the curricula of physician, physician assistant, and advanced practiced registered nurse training programs has not been reported to date. Materials and Methods: An electronic literature search was performed using Scopus®, PubMed, and 17 of the 35 databases on the EBSCOHost platform. We included studies where telehealth concepts and components were integrated in the curriculum for primary care students. We extracted information pertinent to understanding the scope and sustainability of the curriculum and tabulated the results. Results: After a full-text screening of 164 articles and critically analyzing 34, eight articles were included in this review. Comparison of these articles showed no consistency in how telehealth was integrated into the various health care curricula. Content delivered usually included basic telehealth information, however, the depth and breadth of content varied significantly based on the interventions. Discussion: For the articles included in this review, there were no formal study designs regarding basic telehealth educational integration or competencies. While authors recommended conducting evaluation and determining the effectiveness of the interventions, they did not provide a clear picture as to how these efforts should be conducted. Conclusions: In addition to developing a standardized telehealth curriculum, national competencies need to be created, which will guide the development of standardized curriculum across health care training programs.

Adverse caregiving in early life: The trauma and deprivation distinction in young children.

Knowledge and understanding about the impact of cumulative adverse experiences on the health and wellbeing of children, adolescents, and adults has rapidly expanded over the past 30 years. Despite the invaluable attention and support this proliferation has drawn to the importance of early childhood experiences, we believe that it is time to move beyond broad indices of risk and toward more specific and individualized understanding of how risk exposures are linked to clinical outcomes in young children. Within infant and early childhood mental health, there is a need for greater specificity in linking adverse caregiving experiences in early life to psychopathology in children. We highlight a framework distinguishing experiences of trauma from experiences of deprivation and use the examples of posttraumatic stress disorder and reactive attachment disorder to demonstrate how greater specificity in our understanding of early adverse caregiving can lead to more accurate and targeted diagnosis and treatment for young children. Both researchers and clinicians benefit from an approach to gain a greater appreciation of the links between specific types of experiences and outcomes in the children that we serve.

El conocimiento y la comprensión acerca del impacto de experiencias adversas acumuladas sobre la salud y bienestar de los niños, adolescentes y adultos se ha expandido rápidamente durante los pasados 30 años. A pesar de la inestimable atención y apoyo que esta proliferación ha derivado con respecto a la importancia de las experiencias de la temprana niñez, creemos que es tiempo de pasar más allá de los amplios índices de riesgo hacia una comprensión más específica e individualizada de cómo el hecho de estar expuesto a riesgo se conecta con los resultados clínicos en niños pequeños. Dentro el camp de la salud mental infantil, hay una necesidad por mayor especificidad para conectar las adversas experiencias de prestación de cuidado en la temprana parte de la vida con la sicopatología en los niños. Enfatizamos un marco de trabajo que distingue las experiencias de trauma de las experiencias de privaciones y uso de ejemplos del trastorno de estrés postraumático y el trastorno reactivo de la vinculación para demostrar hasta qué punto la especificidad en nuestra comprensión del temprano cuidado adverso puede llevar a un diagnóstico y tratamiento más acertado y dirigido para los niños pequeños. Tanto los investigadores como el personal clínico se benefician de un acercamiento para obtener una mayor apreciación de os lazos entre tipos específicos y resultados en los niños a quienes les servimos.

Les connaissances et la compréhension sur l'impact d'une accumulation d'expériences adverses sur la santé et le bien-être des enfants, des adolescents et des adultes se sont rapidement étendues au fil des 30 dernières années. En dépit de l'attention précieuse et du soutien de cette prolifération qui ont montré l'importance des expériences de la petite enfance, nous pensons qu'il est temps de passer au-delà des indices généraux de risque pour désormais privilégier une compréhension plus spécifique et individualisée de la manière dont les expositions au risqué sont liées aux résultats cliniques chez les jeunes enfants. Au sein de la santé mentale du nourrisson, il est nécessaire d'avoir une plus grande spécificité dans le lien entre les expériences adverses de modes de soin au début de la vie à la psychopathologie chez les enfants. Nous mettons en lumière une structure qui distingue les expériences de trauma d'expériences de privation et utilisons les exemples du trouble de stress posttraumatique et du trouble de l'attachement réactif afin de démontrer la manière dont une plus grande spécificité dans notre compréhension peut mener à un diagnostic et à un traitement plus précis et plus ciblés pour les jeunes enfants. A la fois les chercheurs et les cliniciens bénéficient d'une approche qui nous fait gagner une plus grande appréciation des liens entre les types spécifiques d'expériences et les résultats chez les enfants que nous servons.

The emotional tone of child descriptions during pregnancy is associated with later parenting.

INTRODUCTION: How parents think and feel about their young children has implications for the parent-child relationship. We examined prospective associations between prenatal descriptions of the unborn child's personality and later parenting behavior. METHODS: Pregnant women (N = 120; mean age = 26.16, SD = 5.71) were recruited in their third trimester for a longitudinal study. The sample is demographically diverse and predominantly economically disadvantaged. During prenatal interviews, women described their unborn child's personality, from which positive and negative emotion words were coded. Parenting behavior was coded 12 months postpartum (n = 105 for longitudinal analyses). RESULTS: Use of positive and negative words was negatively correlated (r = -.34, p < .001). Greater use of positive words to describe the unborn child's personality was associated with higher observed sensitivity, warmth, and engagement during mother-infant interactions, whereas negative words were associated with higher interference and lower levels of sensitivity. Mothers who used anxiety- and/or anger-related words to describe their unborn child, relative to mothers who did not, demonstrated higher interference and lower warmth and sensitivity. CONCLUSION: Descriptions of a child's personality before the child is born were associated with postnatal parenting behavior. Prenatal interventions that address negative thoughts and feelings regarding the child may be beneficial for promoting positive parenting postnatally.

Baseline Screening MRI Uptake and Findings in Women with ≥ 20% Lifetime Risk of Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND: The American Cancer Society recommends screening magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for patients with a ≥ 20% lifetime breast cancer risk. This study assesses the outcomes of baseline MRI screens in women from a high-risk breast clinic (HRBC). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients from our institution's HRBC, excluding those with prior breast cancer and predisposing genetic mutations. Screening MRI was recommended for a lifetime risk of ≥ 20% using the Tyrer-Cuzick model. We determined baseline MRI results, biopsy rates, and frequency of MRI-detected high-risk lesions (HRLs) and breast cancers. RESULTS: Overall, 319 women attended our HRBC; median age was 48 years and 4.7% had prior atypia/lobular carcinoma in situ. Screening MRI was recommended for 282 patients, of whom 196 (69.5%) completed a baseline screen. A Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BIRADS) 3 or 4 finding occurred in 19.6% of patients; 23 (12.3%) required 6-month follow-up MRI, 16 (8.6%) underwent core biopsy, and 4 (2.1%) underwent excisional biopsy after initial core. An additional 7 (3.7%) patients had a non-breast incidental finding. An HRL was identified in 2 (1.1%) patients (atypical ductal and lobular hyperplasia, respectively), and 2 (1.1%) were diagnosed with T1N0 breast cancers. CONCLUSIONS: In the setting of an HRBC, 70% of women with a ≥ 20% lifetime risk of breast cancer pursued screening MRI when recommended. On baseline screen, the rate of MRI-detected breast cancer was low (1%); however, malignancies were mammographically occult and identified at an early stage. Despite a low cancer rate, nearly one in four women required additional diagnostic investigation. Prescreening counselling should include a discussion of this possibility, and longer-term follow-up of screening MRI is needed in this high-risk population.

LVSI positive and NX in early endometrial cancer: Surgical restaging (and no further treatment if N0), or adjuvant ERT?

Early endometrial cancer has an overall survival of greater than 80% (1). One of the poor prognostic factors that may be associated with the 20% who do not survive 5 years is the presence of lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI). LVSI is associated with increased nodal metastasis and decreased progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). (2-8). Therefore, unstaged, LVSI positive early endometrial cancer requires additional management with either completion of staging with lymphadenectomy or adjuvant radiation. We focus on reviewing the management of natural history and management of early endometrial cancer followed by the prognostic impact of LVSI, management options and recommendations.

Graduate Nursing Telehealth Education: Assessment of a One-Day Immersion Approach.

The ability to effectively understand and utilize telehealth technologies is an important skill for health care providers. Currently there is limited literature on integrating telehealth education into health care curricula. This article describes a one-day telehealth immersion event for graduate nursing students that combined lectures with hands-on training. Feedback from students was positive, and all participants expressed a need for telehealth education before graduating with an advanced practice nursing degree.

Commentary: Increasing diagnostic precision in reactive attachment disorder - a commentary on Allen & Schuengel (2019).

A study by Allen and Schuengel in this issue of the journal replicates and extends previous findings by Woolgar and Baldock (2015) indicating that community practitioners are far more likely to diagnose reactive attachment disorder in symptomatic children than are specialists using well-validated measures. We consider historic variability in how this disorder is defined but note an emerging consensus in nosologies and among researchers. We consider how more systematic assessments might improve diagnostic efforts to specify the kinds of clinical phenomena that are associated with neglect and deprivation.

Effectiveness of school-based self-management interventions for asthma among children and adolescents: findings from a Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The evidence that teaching self-management techniques to children and young people with asthma in schools is effective has not, to date, been the subject of systematic review. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of intervention studies. Studies were eligible if they employed a randomised parallel-group design and were published in English from 1995 onwards. Participants included children with asthma aged 5-18 years who participated within their own school environment. Searches were conducted on the Cochrane Airways Group Specialised Register. Quantitative data were combined using random-effects meta-analyses. RESULTS: Thirty-three outcome evaluation studies were included. School-based interventions were effective in reducing the frequency of emergency department visits (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.92; studies=13), and moderately effective in reducing levels of hospitalisations (standardised mean differences [SMD] -0.19, 95% CI -0.35 to -0.04; studies=6). A meta-analysis of three studies suggest that the intervention approach could reduce the number of days of restricted activity (SMD -0.30, 95% CI -0.41 to -0.18; studies=3). However, there was uncertainty as to whether school-based self-management interventions impacted on reducing absences from school. CONCLUSIONS: Self-management interventions for children with asthma delivered in schools reduce the number of acute episodes of healthcare usage. We conclude that the school environment is an important space for delivering interventions to improve children's health.

School-based self-management interventions for asthma in children and adolescents: a mixed methods systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a common respiratory condition in children that is characterised by symptoms including wheeze, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and cough. Children with asthma may be able to manage their condition more effectively by improving inhaler technique, and by recognising and responding to symptoms. Schools offer a potentially supportive environment for delivering interventions aimed at improving self-management skills among children. The educational ethos aligns with skill and knowledge acquisition and makes it easier to reach children with asthma who do not regularly engage with primary care. Given the multi-faceted nature of self-management interventions, there is a need to understand the combination of intervention features that are associated with successful delivery of asthma self-management programmes. OBJECTIVES: This review has two primary objectives.• To identify the intervention features that are aligned with successful intervention implementation.• To assess effectiveness of school-based interventions provided to improve asthma self-management among children.We addressed the first objective by performing qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), a synthesis method described in depth later, of process evaluation studies to identify the combination of intervention components and processes that are aligned with successful intervention implementation.We pursued the second objective by undertaking meta-analyses of outcomes reported by outcome evaluation studies. We explored the link between how well an intervention is implemented and its effectiveness by using separate models, as well as by undertaking additional subgroup analyses. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Airways Trials Register for randomised studies. To identify eligible process evaluation studies, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), Web of Knowledge, the Database of Promoting Health Effectiveness Reviews (DoPHER), the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), the International Biography of Social Science (IBSS), Bibliomap, Health Technology Assessment (HTA), Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), and Sociological Abstracts (SocAbs). We conducted the latest search on 28 August 2017. SELECTION CRITERIA: Participants were school-aged children with asthma who received the intervention in school. Interventions were eligible if their purpose was to help children improve management of their asthma by increasing knowledge, enhancing skills, or changing behaviour. Studies relevant to our first objective could be based on an experimental or quasi-experimental design and could use qualitative or quantitative methods of data collection. For the second objective we included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) where children were allocated individually or in clusters (e.g. classrooms or schools) to self-management interventions or no intervention control. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We used qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to identify intervention features that lead to successful implementation of asthma self-management interventions. We measured implementation success by reviewing reports of attrition, intervention dosage, and treatment adherence, irrespective of effects of the interventions.To measure the effects of interventions, we combined data from eligible studies for our primary outcomes: admission to hospital, emergency department (ED) visits, absence from school, and days of restricted activity due to asthma symptoms. Secondary outcomes included unplanned visits to healthcare providers, daytime and night-time symptoms, use of reliever therapies, and health-related quality of life as measured by the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ). MAIN RESULTS: We included 55 studies in the review. Thirty-three studies in 14,174 children provided information for the QCA, and 33 RCTs in 12,623 children measured the effects of interventions. Eleven studies contributed to both the QCA and the analysis of effectiveness. Most studies were conducted in North America in socially disadvantaged populations. High school students were better represented among studies contributing to the QCA than in studies contributing to effectiveness evaluations, which more commonly included younger elementary and junior high school students. The interventions all attempted to improve knowledge of asthma, its triggers, and stressed the importance of regular practitioner review, although there was variation in how they were delivered.QCA results highlighted the importance of an intervention being theory driven, along with the importance of factors such as parent involvement, child satisfaction, and running the intervention outside the child's own time as drivers of successful implementation.Compared with no intervention, school-based self-management interventions probably reduce mean hospitalisations by an average of about 0.16 admissions per child over 12 months (SMD -0.19, 95% CI -0.35 to -0.04; 1873 participants; 6 studies, moderate certainty evidence). They may reduce the number of children who visit EDs from 7.5% to 5.4% over 12 months (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.92; 3883 participants; 13 studies, low certainty evidence), and probably reduce unplanned visits to hospitals or primary care from 26% to 21% at 6 to 9 months (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.60 to 0.90; 3490 participants; 5 studies, moderate certainty evidence). Self-management interventions probably reduce the number of days of restricted activity by just under half a day over a two-week period (MD 0.38 days 95% CI -0.41 to -0.18; 1852 participants; 3 studies, moderate certainty evidence). Effects of interventions on school absence are uncertain due to the variation between the results of the studies (MD 0.4 fewer school days missed per year with self-management (-1.25 to 0.45; 4609 participants; 10 studies, low certainty evidence). Evidence is insufficient to show whether the requirement for reliever medications is affected by these interventions (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.15 to 1.81; 437 participants; 2 studies; very low-certainty evidence). Self-management interventions probably improve children's asthma-related quality of life by a small amount (MD 0.36 units higher on the Paediatric AQLQ(95% CI 0.06 to 0.64; 2587 participants; 7 studies, moderate certainty evidence). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: School-based asthma self-management interventions probably reduce hospital admission and may slightly reduce ED attendance, although their impact on school attendance could not be measured reliably. They may also reduce the number of days where children experience asthma symptoms, and probably lead to small improvements in asthma-related quality of life. Many of the studies tested the intervention in younger children from socially disadvantaged populations. Interventions that had a theoretical framework, engaged parents and were run outside of children's free time were associated with successful implementation.