A Randomized Control Trial of a Smartphone App for Asthma Self-Care: Assessment of Outcomes and Costs (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Few studies have evaluated both the clinical and cost outcomes of smartphone self-care systems for people with asthma. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether a smartphone app based on the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines can improve asthma control and quality of life, and decrease asthma-related costs in children METHODS Patients with asthma between 3 and 18 years of age were randomized to an interactive smartphone app (n=70) group and control group (n=140). The trial was conducted from January 1, 2021, to June 30, 2021. The Asthma Control Test (ACT), Mini-Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ), Pediatric Asthma Caregiver Quality of Life Questionnaire (PACQLQ), Pediatric Asthma Severity Scores (PASS), and peak expiratory flow were assessed at baseline, 3 and 6 months. The direct and indirect medical costs for 6 months before and after the trial were evaluated. RESULTS The intervention group had higher ACT and Mini-PAQLQ scores compared to the control group at 6 months (p=.006; .014). The difference-in-difference in the medical cost of emergency room visits was significant (p CONCLUSIONS Smartphone apps may provide a new tool for asthma management to improve asthma control, reduce patients’ asthma-related costs, and improve quality of life. Reduced asthma cost by smart apps utilization is part of the digital healthcare transformation of next-generation care pathways to realize more sustainable planetary health. CLINICALTRIAL Institutional Review Board Taipei Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare (TH-IRB-0016-0038)