Utilizing Mobile Phones to Manage Asthma.

Asthma is a chronic disease and a growing health problem worldwide. People suffering with asthma miss 11.8 million days of work and 14 million days of school annually. Asthma is also the third highest cause of hospitalization and many of the patients are seen at the emergency department. The annual cost of asthma is estimated at $18 billion. While there is currently no cure for asthma, management of the disease can effectively control it. Mobile phones can serve as a potential platform to facilitate the management of asthma. The objective of this study is to employ principles from social cognitive theory to test the feasibility and utilization of tracking asthma symptoms through a mobile phone application. This research also seeks to understand if managing asthma through mobile phones can also improve health literacy of asthma patients, by helping them better understand their chronic condition and provide better communication opportunities with their primary care physician regarding their asthma. If the data shows improvement in subjects' asthma self-efficacy and satisfaction of tracking asthma in this manner, a future study with controls will be conducted to determine changes in health outcomes and improved health literacy. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]