Living with asthma and chronic obstructive airways disease: Using technology to support self-management – An overview

Abstract

Long-term respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are common, and cause high levels of morbidity and mortality. Supporting self-management is advocated for both asthma and increasingly so for COPD, and there is growing interest in the potential role of a range of new technologies, such as smartphone apps, the web or telehealth to facilitate and promote self-management in these conditions. Treatment goals for both asthma and COPD include aiming to control symptoms, maintain activities, achieve the best possible quality of life and minimize risks of exacerbation. To do this, health professionals should be (a) helping patients to recognize deteriorating symptoms and act appropriately; (b) promoting adherence to maintenance therapy; (c) promoting a regular review where triggers can be established, and strategies for managing such triggers discussed; and (d) promoting healthy lifestyles and positive self-management of symptoms. In particular, low uptake of asthma action plans is a modifiable contributor to morbidity and possibly also to mortality in those with asthma and should be addressed as a priority. Using technology to support self-management is an evolving strategy that shows promise. This review provides an overview of self-management support and discusses how newer technologies may help patients and health professionals to meet key treatment goals.

Uptake of telehealth implementation for COPD patients in a high-poverty, inner-city environment: A survey

“…These findings challenge the potential efficiency, efficacy and benefit of the widespread deployment of the telehealth for patients with COPD at present. 5 Although the deployment of telehealth may be better served by the use of portable technologies, such as smart phones, 7 we did not measure this in the current study but hypothesise that ownership may be limited. Of interest, and probably reflecting the low socio-economic standing of these COPD patients, the access to computer and internet technology in this cohort is markedly lower than the general elderly population within the United Kingdom.…”

The Use of a Smartphone App and an Activity Tracker to Promote Physical Activity in the Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Randomized Controlled Feasibility Study

“…The potential for digital technology to help people with COPD to self-manage their condition is increasingly being investigated [ 19 , 20 ] and advocated in the NHS [ 10 , 21 ]. Bartlett et al [ 22 ] demonstrated that people with COPD find support with a primary task, and dialog support (eg, through feedback), to be persuasive technological strategies to help increase their levels of physical activity.…”

“…Although mHealth tools represent a promising means to encourage greater self-management of COPD, findings from a systematic review in this field were inconclusive owing to a high risk of bias in the included studies, thus indicating the need for more research [ 19 ]. Digital health interventions should be evidence based, person based, and robustly evaluated, with considerations given to future implementation of the intervention at an early stage of its development [ 20 ].…”

A randomised controlled trial of SMS reminders for routine asthma care in an Australian general practice

“…We are witnessing a rapid shift towards more sophisticated mobile health interventions for respiratory disease management, including eHealth 23 and mobile-based apps that require further testing but also development and maintenance. SMS reminders are cheap, use existing infrastructure and are acceptable to patients.…”