Gaps Between Use of Air Quality Information and Healthcare Provider Discussion in U.S. Children With Asthma and Their...

The aim of this study was to determine whether and what air quality index products that children with asthma and their caregivers use and whether healthcare providers discuss outdoor air pollution as an asthma trigger or risk reduction strategies.

A questionnaire was administered to participants in The Transcript/Omics for Precision Medicine in Asthma Study, an observational study of transcriptomic profiles and severe asthma exacerbations in youth aged 6-21 years, recruited from 2023 to 2025. The Wilcoxon rank sum or chi-square test was used for bivariate analyses.

Most caregivers (75%) were aware of alerts or an air quality index and reported learning about or checking it prior to going outdoors (64%), and most reported a behavior change (73%). The most common air quality index source was a phone app (75%, a weather app was most common), followed by TV, radio, or social media alerts (44%) or internet website (24%), with fewer reporting county services (14%). Few reported having discussions with a healthcare provider (41%), and fewer reported receiving recommendations during poor air quality (35%).

Children with asthma and their families report frequently using air quality information to make outdoor activity changes, most often using a weather app; however, they less often report discussing outdoor air pollution as an asthma trigger or recommendations for avoidance with healthcare providers.