The challenges and facilitators of self-management in pediatric asthma

Self-management education in asthma can dramatically reduce asthma morbidity, but specific pediatric challenges need to be addressed. The purpose of this review is to discuss the most recent and significant advances regarding self-management interventions in pediatric asthma.

Recent evidence supports school-based programs including asthma self-management skills for children to significantly improve asthma control. A defined theoretical intervention framework, parent involvement, child satisfaction, and running the intervention outside the child's own free time are suggested drivers of successful implementation. Real-time telemedically delivered asthma education may also improve asthma-related outcomes in children. Moreover, mobile applications supporting self-management are generally welcomed by children and parents. Current evidence supports the use of models of health behaviors change in mobile application design and content development; self-monitoring alone is ineffective but useful when coupled with decision support for proactive care.

School-based and e-health interventions are potential facilitators for the implementation of successful self-management asthma programs, providing access to large numbers of children with asthma. This supports the healthcare practitioners to work together with researchers to promote these interventions, while following current recommendations for the effective transition of children into competent and confident adults to continue to successfully self-manage their asthma.