Pediatric asthma case management: a review of evidence and an experimental study design.

Asthma is a complex disease that involves physiological, environmental, and psychosocial factors. This paper reviews childhood asthma case management by social service professionals, lay health workers, and nurses, and it presents a new randomized controlled study using nurse case management in a local community coalition. Evidence suggests the common factor for success involves case managers spending time contacting and patiently and persistently working with the family, thus building a trusting relationship. Although case management time is an expense for a health care payer, provider, and the child and family, the positive outcomes achieved can demonstrate the benefit of these interventions to all parties involved. The described experimental study assesses the cost and effectiveness of home-based nurse case management by a community coalition for children visiting an emergency department for asthma care.