Self-care, Remote Monitoring and Elearning for Children and Young People With Asthma

Asthma is a long-term condition in children, often managed by general practitioners (GPs) in primary care but some children with asthma need hospital treatment and care by experienced paediatricians and nurses. The positive effects of treatment for childhood asthma are well-documented however, less than 50% children take their medications regularly as prescribed. As well as causing poor control of asthma symptoms, failing to take medication as prescribed is a problem that is causing huge cost and wastage to the NHS. Some of the barriers to taking medications as prescribed include people's beliefs about their illness or medications and forgetting or being too busy. These barriers can be addressed by providing education, reminders and incentives. Monitoring medication usage is complex but studies have shown that use of electronic monitoring devices with education does improve the number of asthma attacks. Digital solutions for asthma self-care, including "smart-inhalers" that monitor medication usage and Apps for remote monitoring and self-management are likely to transform health services by providing supported self-management, prioritisation of the more unwell patients and reductions in hospital visits. Asthma + me, a digital self-care solution has been developed by Aseptika Ltd, in consultation with Sheffield Children's Hospital, to support children with asthma. It uses a monitoring device that connects wirelessly to the Asthma +me App and monitors medication usage, providing education tips, reminders and incentives. In this project, 15 children (and their families) will trial Asthma + me with a PUFFClicker and a 3-4 hour education session and report what worked and what didn't using structured interviews and questionnaires. At the same time the investigators will map out the number of patients that could potentially use this solution to self-manage their asthma, with the support of the hospital, until they are ready to be discharged back to their GP.