Online asthma management program improves teen health more than Web sites

Online asthma management program improves teen health more than Web sites

According to a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine earlier this week, a new online asthma program might help educate urban minority teenagers about their condition and improve their treatment, Reuters Health reports. Researchers tested the Internet program with computers in six Detroit high schools and focused on common problems among teenage asthmatics, including adhering to preventive medication, limiting wheezing attacks, and not smoking. The study found that one year later, the 162 mostly black teens who used the program reported fewer asthma symptoms and missed fewer school days than students who were directed to existing asthma-related Web sites. The participants who used the Web-based program also were less likely to be hospitalized for an asthma attack during the year.

Go to AJRCCM <http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/175/9/888>  to read the abstract.