Background: Maintaining control of asthma symptoms is the cornerstone of asthma treatment guidelines in the United States. However, suboptimal asthma control and asthma exacerbations among young people are common and are associated with many negative outcomes. Interventions to improve asthma control are needed. For such interventions to be successful, it is necessary to understand the types of interventions that are appealing to caregivers of children with different levels of risk of exacerbation.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether caregivers of children with high (vs low) risk of asthma exacerbation show different levels of interest in and preferences for potential intervention programs and delivery methods.
Methods: We contracted with Ipsos to administer a web-based survey to caregivers of children with asthma who were residing in the United States. Caregivers (N=394) reported their interest (1=not at all; 3=a lot) in 9 possible intervention programs and 8 possible intervention delivery methods. Caregivers also indicated their preferences by selecting the 3 intervention programs and 3 delivery methods that "most" interested them. Finally, caregivers completed 2 open-ended questions asking what other resources might be useful for managing their children's asthma. We classified children as having a high risk of exacerbation if they had an exacerbation in the past 3 months (n=116) and a low risk of exacerbation if otherwise (n=278).
Results: Caregivers reported higher levels of interest in all intervention programs and delivery methods if they cared for a child with a high risk rather than a low risk of exacerbation. However, regardless of the child's risk status, caregivers expressed the highest levels of interest in programs to increase their child's self-management skills, to help pay for asthma care, and to work with the school to manage asthma. Caregivers expressed the highest levels of interest in delivery methods that maintained personal control over accessing information (websites, videos, printed materials, and smartphone apps). Caregivers' preferences were consistent with their interests; programs and delivery methods that were rated as high in interest were also selected as one of the 3 that "most" interested them. Although most caregivers did not provide additional suggestions for the open-ended questions, a few caregivers suggested intervention programs and delivery methods that we had not included (eg, education about avoiding triggers and medication reminders).
Conclusions: Similar interests and preferences among caregivers of children with high and low risk of exacerbation suggest a broad need for support in managing childhood asthma. Providers could help caregivers by directing them toward resources that make asthma care more affordable and by helping their children with asthma self-management. Interventions that accommodate caregivers' concerns about having personal control over access to asthma information are likely to be more successful than interventions that do not.
Keywords: asthma; asthma exacerbations; caregivers; children; decision-making; intervention.
©Gabrielle Pogge, David A Fedele, Erika A Waters, Julia Maki, Jean M Hunleth, Sreekala Prabhakaran, Deborah J Bowen, James A Shepperd. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 02.08.2023.