Using SMS to provide continuous assessment and improve health outcomes for children with asthma

Abstract

Effective communication between health professionals and patients positively influences chronic health management, as does increased patient awareness of their symptoms and general knowledge of the condition. In this study, we leverage the use of mobile phones by pediatric patients and report results from a four-month randomized controlled trial (RCT). We examined: 1) how a SMS system impacted the health outcomes of asthmatic children; and 2) how physicians used a Web service showing the data gathered from the SMS system. Our results show that 1) the simple act of communicating knowledge and symptom awareness information via SMS leads to improved pulmonary function for pediatric patients; and 2) physicians would use the data sent from the SMS system to monitor their patient's asthma management status.