Telehealth support for children with asthma after emergency room visits

Telehealth-Enhanced Asthma Care for Home After the Emergency Room (TEACH-ER)

This study is testing a new telehealth program to see if it helps children aged 3-12 manage their asthma better after they leave the emergency room.

Quick facts

• Phase: NA
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 430 (estimated)
• Ages: 3 Years to 12 Years
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: University of Rochester (other)
• Locations: 1 site (Rochester, New York)
• Trial ID: NCT05844891 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This clinical trial evaluates the effectiveness of a Telehealth-Enhanced Asthma Care program for children aged 3-12 who have experienced an acute asthma exacerbation. Participants will receive educational resources in the emergency department, followed by virtual follow-up visits within a week of discharge and additional telehealth sessions to reinforce asthma management. The study aims to enroll 430 children and will track their progress over a 12-month period through caregiver surveys. The goal is to improve asthma control and management at home using telemedicine.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal candidates are children aged 3-12 years with a physician-diagnosed asthma who have recently visited the emergency department for an acute exacerbation.

Not a fit: Patients who do not speak or understand English or those with low health literacy may not benefit from this study.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could significantly enhance asthma management and reduce emergency room visits for children.

How similar studies have performed: Other studies have shown promising results with telehealth interventions for chronic conditions, suggesting potential success for this approach.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria (all criteria must be met):

* Physician diagnosis of asthma, based on review of medical records and/or caregiver report.
* Current emergency visit for an acute asthma exacerbation, requiring treatment with rescue medication.
* Persistent asthma or poor asthma control for which a daily controller medication is recommended by NHLBI guidelines, defined as any 1 of the following:

  1. \>2 days/wk with asthma symptoms in the past month,
  2. \>2 days/wk with rescue medication use in the past month,
  3. \>2 days/month with nighttime symptoms in the past month (vs. 1-2 nights per month if 3-4 years old), or
  4. ≥1 other episode of asthma during the past year that required systemic corticosteroids (vs. during the past 6 months if 3-4 years old).
* Child age between ≥3 and ≤12 years.
* Child and caregiver live in the greater Rochester, NY metropolitan area (Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, Livingston, Genesee, and Orleans Counties)
* Emergency severity index triage scores of 2-5 (total range 1-5; scores of 1 indicate the highest acuity and likelihood of hospitalization).

Exclusion Criteria:

* An inability to speak and understand English. Parents (and children) with low literacy / health-literacy skills will be eligible, as survey instruments will be administered verbally and educational materials will be designed for low-literacy populations.
* No access to a working phone for follow-up surveys (either at the subject's home or an easily accessible location). If a subject does not have access to an appropriate device for Zoom visits at home, we will provide a device with required data plan.
* Other significant medical conditions, including cystic fibrosis, congenital heart disease, or other chronic lung disease, that could interfere with the assessment of asthma-related measures.
* Children in foster care or other situations in which consent cannot be obtained from a legal guardian.

Where this trial is running

Rochester, New York

• University of Rochester Medical Center — Rochester, New York, United States (RECRUITING)

Conditions: Asthma in Children