Promoting Asthma Wellness in Rural Communities

This is a research study that compares the effectiveness of a web-based program (known as Puff City) and another web-based program (of internet sites such as the American Lung Association, American Academy of Asthma, Allergy, and Immunology, etc) that targets five key asthma management issues among rural youth: Improving adherence to asthma controller medication use; Improving compliance of carrying a rescue inhaler at all times for use at the first sign of asthma symptoms; Improving inhaler technique; Smoking reduction or cessation in those who are smokers; and Avoidance of second-hand smoke exposure.

A randomized control trial across three southeastern rural high schools comparing a web-based tailored intervention (known as Puff City) to web-based traditional control education sites.

Puff City is an NHLBI-funded (C. Joseph, PI; Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI), web-based intervention that targets three key asthma management issues in youth: 1) smoking reduction or cessation in those who are smokers, 2) improving adherence to asthma controller medication use, and 3) improving compliance of carrying a rescue inhaler at all times for use at the first sign of asthma symptoms. Puff City Ga. is a replication study in the rural southeastern United States that adds biological assessments in addition to self-report data.

Students will be directed to generic public websites on asthma and smoking that contain helpful information on general asthma management.

Puff City GA focuses on three areas of health behavior: 1) adherence to controller medications; 2) immediate availability of rescue medication; 3)smoking cessation/reduction.

Students will be directed to generic public websites on asthma and smoking that contain helpful information on general asthma management.

Days of asthma symptoms; personal cigarette smoking and cessation; and days of school missed because of asthma, measured by self report

Inclusion Criteria: AA ethnicity in 9th - 11th grade of selected rural schools have an asthma diagnosis and/or asthma-like symptoms by screening eligible on the Lung Health Survey have access to a telephone or mobile phone being the parent of a student meeting the above criteria with whom the student resides the majority of the time. Exclusion Criteria: Not meeting the above criteria.

Jordan DM, Bush JS, Ownby DR, Waller JL, Tingen MS. The impact of traditional literacy and education on health literacy in adolescents with asthma. J Asthma. 2019 Aug;56(8):882-890. doi: 10.1080/02770903.2018.1494191. Epub 2018 Sep 5.