The Development and Preliminary Impact of CAMP Air: A Web-based Asthma Intervention to Improve Asthma Among Adolescents.
Jean-Marie Bruzzese, Maureen George, Jianfang Liu and 4 others
PMID 33004234WHAT IT FOUND
In adolescents with uncontrolled asthma, a bundled web-based self-management program improved asthma control and reduced night waking, school absences and urgent care risk, but daytime symptoms and activity limitations did not improve over short follow-up.
This was a small pilot.
Key findings
01Relative to controls, CAMP Air participants had significantly improved asthma knowledge and higher follow-up ACT scores.
02CAMP Air participants had significantly lower night waking, school absences and urgent care visit risk, but no improvement in daytime symptoms or activity limitations.
03CAMP Air participants completed an average of 6.0 modules, and 92% would recommend it to other teenagers with asthma.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a pilot study, not a full-scale trial, so it cannot establish that CAMP Air works. Follow-up was only one month, so it does not show long-term effects or account for seasonal asthma changes. The sample was small and came from two schools plus a non-representative community group, and adolescents who enrolled may already have been motivated to control asthma. The intervention was available only in English. CAMP Air bundled modules, daily checklists, reminders, tailored reports and referrals, so the study cannot separate the contribution of any single component. The control group also received asthma education, websites, diaries and provider referral, so the results compare CAMP Air with that package, not with no intervention. Some outcomes did not improve, including daytime symptoms and activity limitations. School participants had better completion and outcomes than community participants, so results may depend on having a point-person help adolescents access the program.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The paper is listed as NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this web program is proven to improve asthma control. The trial was a small pilot with only one-month follow-up, several outcomes did not improve, and the program bundled modules, checklists, reminders, tailored reports and referrals, so the study cannot show which parts caused the effects.