Asthma study to test effectiveness of smart inhalers

A pilot study will investigate the effectiveness and affordability of smart inhaler devices for improving asthma management of children in the Hunter and New England regions.

Improving asthma management through better compliance with medication schedules has been shown to be effective in reducing exacerbations and consequently hospitalisations.

Smart inhaler devices are a reusable one-off purchase that attaches to the child’s usual inhaler and is suitable for both preventer and reliever.  The device connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth and a phone app records the child’s preventer usage, which becomes available for the child, parent, and GP to review. The devices can also send reminders and prompts if medication is overdue and can warn of potentially harmful situations, such as high air pollution and pollen events.

However, uptake of the devices in Australia has been limited, mostly due to the prohibitive cost of devices (approximately $120 each), which receives no government subsidy.

University of Newcastle Professor Joerg Mattes and Dr Megan Freund have been awarded $400,000 from Asthma Australia to provide preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of smart inhalers in improving adherence to prescribed medication regime and preventing asthma exacerbations in children aged five to nine years.

Contact

• Carmen Swadling, Communications Coordinator, Media Team
• Email: carmen.swadling@newcastle.edu.au

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