Evaluating inhaler education interventions for hospitalized children with asthma: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Most children with asthma have poor inhaler technique, with detrimental morbidity effects. Guidelines recommend clinicians provide inhaler education at every opportunity, yet resources are limited. A low-cost, technology-based intervention-Virtual Teach-to-Goal (V-TTG)-was developed to deliver tailored inhaler technique education with high fidelity. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether V-TTG leads to less inhaler misuse among children with asthma who are hospitalized vs brief intervention (BI, reading steps aloud). METHODS: A single-center randomized controlled trial of V-TTG vs BI was conducted with 5-to-10-year-old children with asthma hospitalized between January 2019 and February 2020. Inhaler technique was assessed pre- and post-education using 12-step validated checklists (misuse: < 10 steps correct). RESULTS: Among 70 children enrolled, mean age was 7.8 years (SD = 1.6). Most (86%) were Black. Most had an emergency department visit (94%) or hospitalization (90%) in the previous year. At baseline, nearly all children misused inhalers (96%). The proportion of children with inhaler misuse decreased significantly in V-TTG (100%→74%, P = .002) and BI (92%→69%, P = .04) groups, with no difference between groups at both time points (P = .2 and .9). On average, children performed 1.5 more steps correctly (SD = 2.0), with greater improvement with V-TTG (mean [SD] = 1.7 [1.6]) vs BI (mean [SD] = 1.4 [2.3]), though not significant (P = .6). Concerning pre and post technique, older children were significantly more likely than younger children to show more correct steps (mean change = 1.9 vs 1.1, P = .002). CONCLUSION: A technology-based intervention for tailored inhaler education led to improved technique among children, similarly to reading steps aloud. Older children saw greater benefits. Future studies should evaluate the V-TTG intervention across diverse populations and disease severities to identify the greatest impact. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04373499.

Community Health Workers in Schools: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Community health workers (CHWs) are trusted community members who provide health education and care. However, no consensus exists regarding whether community health worker-based interventions are effective within the school setting. OBJECTIVE: To determine outcomes and best practices of school-based community health worker interventions. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, CINAHL, and SCOPUS databases. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: This systematic literature review examined articles that described an intervention led by community health workers, targeted children and/or parents, and took place primarily within a Kindergarten-12th grade school setting. Articles were excluded if they described an intervention outside the United States. PARTICIPANTS: Community health workers, children, and/or their parents INTERVENTIONS: School-based community health worker programs RESULTS: Of 1875 articles identified, 13 met inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. Of these, 5 described a statistically significant primary outcome. Seven articles provided details regarding community health worker recruitment, training, and roles that would enable reproduction of the intervention. LIMITATIONS: This review focused on interventions in the United States. Bias of individual studies had a wide range of scores (9-21). Heterogeneity of studies also precluded a meta-analysis of primary outcomes. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF KEY FINDINGS: The utilization of Community health workers in school-based interventions for children and/or parents is promising. This review identified a lack of detail and uniformity in program presentation, specifically with Community health worker recruitment, training, and roles. A standardized reporting mechanism for Community health worker interventions in schools would better allow for reproducibility and scalability of existing studies.

Reducing Obesogenic Eating Behaviors in Hispanic Children through a Family-Based, Culturally-Tailored RCT: Abriendo Caminos.

Family-based interventions that incorporate culturally-tailored multi-component curricula and are grounded on evidence-based information and theoretical frameworks can help reduce the prevalence of obesity among Hispanic children. Abriendo Caminos: Clearing the Path to Hispanic Health is a multi-site culturally-tailored randomized control trial that aims to reduce obesity rates in Hispanic families by delivering education on nutrition, family wellness, and physical activity. This study evaluated the effect of the Abriendo Caminos six-week intervention on dietary behaviors of Hispanic children (6-18 years). Mothers (n = 365) reported their child's eating behavior intake using the U.S. Department of Education's Early Childhood Longitudinal Study protocol (ECLS). Pre/post dietary changes were evaluated using separate generalized estimating equation models adjusted for site, child sex, and child age group. Findings indicate a reduction in the frequency of sugar-sweetened beverages (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.35, 0.87, p = 0.01), French fries (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.36, 0.86, p = 0.009), and fast food (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.36, 0.84, p = 0.006) consumption among children in the intervention arm. Additionally, children in the intervention arm increased their frequency of vegetable consumption (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.08, 3.12, p = 0.03). The Abriendo Caminos intervention effectively improved four of eight eating behaviors in a short-term intervention.

Association between inhaler technique and confidence among hospitalized children with asthma.

OBJECTIVE: Proper use of respiratory inhalers is crucial to asthma self-management and associated with improved outcomes. Previous studies conducted in outpatient and community settings show parents and children are overconfident in children's ability to use inhalers properly, which may lead healthcare providers to not teach or review inhaler technique. This study examined whether children and parents' confidence were associated with proper inhaler technique among children hospitalized with asthma. METHODS: Children between 5 and 10 years old hospitalized with asthma at an urban academic medical center demonstrated inhaler technique using metered dose inhalers and spacers. Technique was scored based on a validated 12-step scale. Confidence was measured using three items assessing 1. Knowledge to use inhaler, 2. Skills to use inhaler, and 3. Ability to independently use inhaler. These items were five-point scales and analyzed as binary variables. Independent t-tests were used to measure associations between confidence and number of steps performed correctly. RESULTS: None of the confidence items, when asked to parents or children (n = 70), were associated with the number of steps performed correctly. Further, while the majority of children and parents (59-70%) were confident based on each item, the mean number of steps correctly completed was 6.4 out of 12. CONCLUSIONS: Children and parents' confidence in children's knowledge, skills, and ability to independently use an inhaler were all poor proxies for proper inhaler technique. Inpatient healthcare professionals should objectively evaluate technique and teach proper inhaler use to all children with asthma to optimize outcomes.