Promoting adherence to interventions and self-management for school-aged children with asthma is important. Utilizing information and communication technology aims at improving adherence. These interventions are “effective for increasing asthma knowledge, reducing activity limitations, improving self-management (e.g., use of action plans, self-efficacy), improving quality of life, and optimizing medication use” (Ramsey et al., 2019). One of the barriers to asthma control is consistency. Children often forget to take their medications, therefore, missing dosages can lessen the efficacy of asthma control. Several interventions include automated text messaging such as reminder text messaging to prevent missed doses and educational interventions such as learning modules (Ramsey et al., 2019). They have shown significant improvement in health outcomes such as asthma control and quality of life. Providers have been continually encouraging the use of information and communication technologies such as digital intervention to enhance self-management for the children (Ramsey et al., 2019).
Nurses can promote the use of these educational resources as well. Children can benefit from watching videos and learning modules to learn more about asthma self-care. Interactive learning experience helps retain interest and increase engagement. When children are involved in their own self-management, they are more likely to adhere to the interventions. For instance, every doctor’s visit, the nurse can provide information on how to access these resources or even have the educational videos playing while the children and parents are waiting to be seen.
Ramsey, R., Plevinsky, J., Kollin, S., Gibler, R., Guilbert, T., & Hommel, K. (2019). Systematic Review of Digital Interventions for Pediatric Asthma Management. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7152564/#__ffn_sectitle
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