G543 - Improving Adherence - Watt

Question 0

Participants…

Answer 0

32 Australian children aged 1.5 to 6. All been diagnosed as asthmatic and prescribed drugs. (10 boys 22 girls)

Question 1

Aim…

Answer 1

To see if using a funhaler can improve children’s adherence to medication for asthma.

Question 2

What type of design was used?

Answer 2

Repeated measures

Question 3

How long was the breath-a-tech used for in the experiment?

Answer 3

1 week

Question 4

What did the parents do after each week?

Answer 4

Filled out a questionnaire with matched questions on each of the inhalers

Question 5

What was given to the children on the second week?

Answer 5

The funhaler

Question 6

What was the funhaler?

Answer 6

A variation of the traditional inhaler with a spinner and a whistle.

Question 7

What percentage of parents were found to have medicated their children the previous day when using the funhaler, compared to the existing treatment?

Answer 7

38%

Question 8

What reasons had previous research given for non-adherence in children with asthma?

Answer 8

Boredom, forgetfulness and apathy

Question 9

How did the funhlaler improve adherence to the medication? ?

Answer 9

By adding a spinner and a whistle, it reinforced correct usage of the inhaler. The child would have to breathe in correctly to make the whistle and spinner work.

Question 10

What was the overall conclusion?

Answer 10

Making the medical regime fun, adherence, especially in children, can be improved.