Utilization patterns in an asthma intervention.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-2006
Identifier
DOI: 10.1016/s1081-1206(10)60782-x
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The National Cooperative Inner-City Asthma Study (NCICAS) tested a model of asthma management in which a master's degree-prepared social worker functioned as an asthma counselor. The NCICAS resulted in decreased symptom days and a trend toward fewer emergency department (ED) visits and hospital admissions in the intervention group compared with the control group.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a real-world implementation would give similar results to the NCICAS.
METHODS: Children with moderate or severe persistent asthma were enrolled in a 1-year program, the Inner-City Asthma Intervention (ICAI) program, modeled on the NCICAS. Since the program initially was not designed to be research, data were collected retrospectively. ED and hospital visits were compared 1 year before and after the intervention at 2 of the intervention sites, Children's Mercy Hospital (CMH) and Baystate Medical Center, to determine whether there was a significant change.
RESULTS: Data for 93 children from CMH and 77 from Baystate were evaluated. At CMH annual ED visits were 0.38 before, 0.42 during, and 0.41 after the intervention, whereas at Baystate ED visits were 0.09 before, 0.17 during, and 0.15 after the intervention. Mean hospitalizations at CMH increased from 0.06 before to 0.22 during and then decreased to 0.12 after (P > .05), whereas admissions at Baystate increased from 0.03 before to 0.05 during and 0.04 after the intervention.
CONCLUSIONS: Asthma self-management interventions can lead to decreases in asthma utilization under controlled circumstances. Further prospective studies are needed to determine whether the ICAI intervention is effective under real-world conditions.
Journal Title
Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology : official publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology
Volume
97
Issue
1 Suppl 1
First Page
25
Last Page
30
MeSH Keywords
Allergens; Animals; Anti-Asthmatic Agents; Asthma; Case Management; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; Child; Child, Preschool; Community Health Services; Community-Institutional Relations; Counseling; Drug Utilization; Emergency Service, Hospital; Environmental Exposure; Female; Government Programs; Health Plan Implementation; Health Services Needs and Demand; Hospitalization; Humans; Male; Massachusetts; Missouri; Patient Admission; Patient Education as Topic; Program Evaluation; Research Support as Topic; Retrospective Studies; Social Work; Socioeconomic Factors; United States; Urban Population
Keywords
Allergens; Animals; Anti-Asthmatic Agents; Asthma; Case Management; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; Child; Child, Preschool; Community Health Services; Community-Institutional Relations; Counseling; Drug Utilization; Emergency Service, Hospital; Environmental Exposure; Female; Government Programs; Health Plan Implementation; Health Services Needs and Demand; Hospitalization; Humans; Male; Massachusetts; Missouri; Patient Admission; Patient Education as Topic; Program Evaluation; Research Support as Topic; Retrospective Studies; Social Work; Socioeconomic Factors; United States; Urban Population
Recommended Citation
Portnoy JM, Jennings D. Utilization patterns in an asthma intervention. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2006;97(1 Suppl 1):S25-S30. doi:10.1016/s1081-1206(10)60782-x
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