Using Social Media to Decrease Healthcare Utilization for Pediatric Asthma

NCT ID: NCT05013788

Last Updated: 2025-10-24

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 200 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2021-10-01
• Study Completion Date: 2024-09-15

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.

Conditions

Asthma in Children

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Treatment

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Social Media Enhanced Education

Intervention Type: OTHER

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.

Control Group

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Usual Asthma Education

Intervention Type: OTHER

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

Interventions

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.

Intervention Type: OTHER

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

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 3 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 17 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Monica Kodakandla

Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Monica Kodakandla, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Locations

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Houston, Texas, United States

Countries

United States

Provided Documents

Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Document Type: Informed Consent Form

View Document

Other Identifiers

UL1TR003167

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

HSC-MS-21-0426

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id