Children's adherence to recommended asthma self-management.
OBJECTIVE
Adherence to peak expiratory flow rate monitoring by children with asthma was evaluated, and a behavioral strategy to enhance adherence to daily monitoring was tested.


METHODS
Forty-two 7- through 11-year-old children with persistent asthma were recruited into a 5-week randomized, controlled clinical trial. Adherence data were collected electronically by PeakLog and the self-report Asthma Diary.


RESULTS
Adherence declined over time. At week 5, intervention group adherence (Median = 79%) was higher than the usual care group adherence (Median = 64%), but the difference was not statistically significant. The effect size did suggest that differences between groups were present.


CONCLUSIONS
Even small improvements in adherence to asthma treatment may be clinically significant in light of the alarming increases in asthma morbidity and mortality. Contingency management shows promise for improving adherence outcomes. Future research should engage larger sample sizes and increase the number and intensity of sessions to teach behavioral strategies.
Burkhart
Patricia V
PV
College of Nursing, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Dunbar-Jacob
Jacqueline M
JM
Fireman
Philip
P
Rohay
Jeffrey
J
D001249:Asthma / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D024802:Nurse's Role; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010366:Peak Expiratory Flow Rate; D017010:Reminder Systems; D012648:Self Care