Scoping review: multiple stakeholders and child asthma management interventions

This study reviewed research to identify interventions aimed at improving asthma management among children by educating parents and other professionals.

PubMed, Medline, and Embase databases were utilized.

Three databases were searched for child asthma management interventions published between 2012-2022 in English. Search terms included children, asthma, intervention(s), community pediatrics, coaches, schools, and stakeholders. Inclusion criteria were being an experimental study focused on children with asthma (birth-18 years), including stakeholder involvement, education, and a community focus. The search yielded 153 articles; nine were reviewed.

In general, stakeholders developed programs that resulted in improvements in asthma symptoms, knowledge of asthma management, perceptions of health care, and decreased emergency health care visits. Successful interventions involved education about asthma management, providing medications, and partnerships with school staff, healthcare teams, and community members. Effective coordination and communication contributed to successful program implementation. Using technology for asthma management education was effective in tracking access to care and facilitated the delivery of medications.

The findings indicate that interventions were effective in improving child asthma management. Stakeholder partnerships were critical to the effectiveness of interventions. Marketing the intervention and encouraging communication with parents also fostered success. Being able to assess the home environment and staying in contact with parents were barriers to these interventions. Conducting randomized controlled trials using the interventions found effective in these studies to assess change in symptoms and emergency care visits over time would yield important information about their long-term success and cost for implementation.