Using Social Media to Decrease Healthcare Utilization for Pediatric Asthma

NCT05013788 | Completed Results

• 2 other identifiers: HSC-MS-21-0426UL1TR003167
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 200
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate if social media enhanced education (SME) will reduce total number of treatment days defined as summation of days of subsequent hospital admission, emergency room visits, and clinic visits, reduce missed school days, reduce total costs from a health system perspective, have increased effect with increased social media engagement, have increased effect in participants with both caregiver and patient (combined) with social media accounts, compared to participants where only the patient or only the caregiver uses social media (single),have increased patient satisfaction in the asthma education received and to obtain the experience and data needed to refine SME to be able to expand this platform for other chronic medical conditions with high healthcare utilization including pediatric diabetes, epilepsy, and sickle cell disease in children with asthma.

Conditions

Asthma in Children

Keywords

Social Media; Pediatric Asthma; Healthcare Utilization

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Total Number of Treatment Days in a Medical Setting (Hospital, Emergency Department (ED), Clinic)

  Treatment days are defined as the summation of days in the hospital, ED, or in the clinic.

  1 year after enrollment

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• Number of Days Hospitalized

  1 year after enrollment

• Number of Participants With Hospital Readmissions

  1 year after enrollment

• Number of Participants With Emergency Room Visits

  1 year after enrollment

• Total Number of Clinic Visits

  1 year after enrollment

• Patient Satisfaction and Understanding of Asthma Education

  1 year after enrollment

Study Arms (2)

Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

Other: Social Media Enhanced Education

Control Group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Other: Usual Asthma Education

Interventions

Social Media Enhanced Education OTHER

Along with usual asthma education received,participants will receive asthma education via various social media platforms ,Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and/or Snapchat. Topics of education will include background on asthma and pathophysiology, asthma severity classification, asthma triggers, different medications and indications for when to take them, how to use an inhaler technique, and symptom monitoring.Online resources from the American Lung Association and the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program will also be posted.

Treatment

Usual Asthma Education OTHER

For patients who are admitted to Children's Memorial Hermann for asthma exacerbation, asthma education is provided to patients and families on the day of discharge by the nurse and respiratory therapist on triggers, Signs \& Symptoms, Medication Use, Medication Delivery, Peak Flow, Zones and how to respond to each, and Cleaning equipment.Nursing staff are responsible for printing out education sheets to give to patients and showing an education video that is 20 minutes long. An asthma action plan are given to families on discharge. Patients that are discharged from the emergency room are given the same educational materials by the nurses and/or respiratory therapists except for the asthma video. Patients receive a variable amount of asthma education when going to usual clinic visits. The education provided is dependent on the provider, and usually limited in length to the time of the visit

Control Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 3 Years - 17 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• hospitalized to Children's Memorial Hermann admitted for asthma exacerbation
• patient and/or primary caregiver must have internet access on cellular phones or at home and use a social media account (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and/or Snapchat)

You may not qualify if:

• other chronic conditions besides asthma that may necessitate frequent health care utilization. i.e. children with complex chronic conditions, sickle cell, seizures, diabetes.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston: lead
• National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Houston, Texas, 77030, United States

Location

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Monica Kodakandla, MD
• Organization: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

RMonica.Kodakandla@uth.tmc.edu

713-500-5666

Study Officials

• Monica Kodakandla, MD

  The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: Yes

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 13, 2021
• First Posted: August 19, 2021
• Study Start: October 1, 2021
• Primary Completion: September 15, 2024
• Study Completion: September 15, 2024
• Last Updated: February 11, 2026
• Results First Posted: October 24, 2025

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)