Clinical Study Seeking to Improve Treatment for Children with Asthma Begins Recruiting Participants
Friday, March 27, 2015
"Asthma affects millions of children and is a leading cause for emergency department visits in children," said Sharmilee Nyenhuis, assistant professor in the division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, Department of Medicine, and UI Health site principal investigator for the study, called the CHICAGO Plan (Coordinated Healthcare Interventions for Childhood Asthma Gaps in Outcomes). "There are gaps in our understanding about how best to implement asthma guidelines in the emergency department and in the home. The CHICAGO Plan was designed specifically to address gaps in the care of children."
CHICAGO Plan (Coordinated Healthcare Interventions for Childhood Asthma Gaps in Outcomes)
The CHICAGO Plan began recruiting participants in early March at six major medical centers in Chicago, including UI Health, University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Rush University Medical Center, Sinai Medical Center, and John H. Stroger, Jr., Hospital of Cook County.
The CHICAGO Plan aims to test patient-centered interventions, delivered in the emergency department (ED) and in the home, to improve outcomes in minority children seeking care in the ED for uncontrolled asthma.
Our interventions involve education of the patients and their families through improved communication (written and oral). The success of the interventions will be measured through interviews with the children's caregivers. It will focus on outcomes meaningful to children - such as not missing school and being able to participate in sports - and meaningful to caregivers and families, such as lower anxiety and not having to miss work.
The CHICAGO Plan gives stakeholders a major role in the development and implementation of the program. The project collaborative involves Respiratory Health Association, Chicago Asthma Consortium, the City of Chicago Department of Public Health, the IIT Institute of Design and Illinois Emergency Department Asthma Surveillance Program.
Media Contact: Sharon Parmet, 312.413.2695, sparmet@uic.edu
