BACKGROUND: Childhood asthma is a complex chronic disease that poses significant challenges regarding management, and there is evidence of disparities in care. Many medical, psychosocial, and health system factors contribute to recognized poor control of this most prevalent illness among children, with resultant excessive use of emergency departments and hospitalizations for care. Recent national guidelines emphasize the need for community-based initiatives to address these critical issues. To address health system fragmentation and impact asthma outcomes, the Philadelphia Allies Against Asthma coalition developed and implemented the Child Asthma Link Line, a telephone-based care coordination and system integration program, which has been in operation since 2001. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Child Asthma Link Line integration model to improve asthma management by measuring utilization markers of morbidity. METHODS: Medicaid Managed Care Organization claims data for 59 children who received the Link Line intervention in 2003 are compared to a matched sample of 236 children who did not receive the Link Line intervention. Children in the two study groups are ages 3 through 12 years and matched on 2003 emergency department visits, age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Primary outcome variables analyzed in this study are emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and office visit claims from the follow-up year (2004). RESULTS: Link Line intervention children were significantly less likely to have follow-up hospitalizations than matched sample children (p = .02). Children enrolled in the Link Line were also more likely to attend outpatient office visits in the follow-up year (p = .045). In addition, Link Line children with multiple emergency department visits in 2003 were significantly less likely to have an emergency department visit in 2004 (p = .046). CONCLUSION: This coalition-developed, telephone-based, system-level intervention had a significant impact on childhood asthma morbidity as measured by utilization endpoints of follow-up hospitalizations and emergency department visits. Telephone-based care coordination and service integration may be a viable and economic way to impact childhood asthma and other chronic diseases.
BACKGROUND: Childhood asthma is a complex chronic disease that poses significant challenges regarding management, and there is evidence of disparities in care. Many medical, psychosocial, and health system factors contribute to recognized poor control of this most prevalent illness among children, with resultant excessive use of emergency departments and hospitalizations for care. Recent national guidelines emphasize the need for community-based initiatives to address these critical issues. To address health system fragmentation and impact asthma outcomes, the Philadelphia Allies Against Asthma coalition developed and implemented the ChildAsthma Link Line, a telephone-based care coordination and system integration program, which has been in operation since 2001. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the ChildAsthma Link Line integration model to improve asthma management by measuring utilization markers of morbidity. METHODS: Medicaid Managed Care Organization claims data for 59 children who received the Link Line intervention in 2003 are compared to a matched sample of 236 children who did not receive the Link Line intervention. Children in the two study groups are ages 3 through 12 years and matched on 2003 emergency department visits, age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Primary outcome variables analyzed in this study are emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and office visit claims from the follow-up year (2004). RESULTS: Link Line intervention children were significantly less likely to have follow-up hospitalizations than matched sample children (p = .02). Children enrolled in the Link Line were also more likely to attend outpatient office visits in the follow-up year (p = .045). In addition, Link Line children with multiple emergency department visits in 2003 were significantly less likely to have an emergency department visit in 2004 (p = .046). CONCLUSION: This coalition-developed, telephone-based, system-level intervention had a significant impact on childhood asthma morbidity as measured by utilization endpoints of follow-up hospitalizations and emergency department visits. Telephone-based care coordination and service integration may be a viable and economic way to impact childhood asthma and other chronic diseases.
Authors: Mary R Janevic; Shelley Stoll; Margaret Wilkin; Peter X K Song; Alan Baptist; Marielena Lara; Gilberto Ramos-Valencia; Tyra Bryant-Stephens; Victoria Persky; Kimberly Uyeda; Julie Kennedy Lesch; Wen Wang; Floyd J Malveaux Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2016-09-15 Impact factor: 9.308
Authors: Chandana Guha; Rabia Khalid; Anita van Zwieten; Anna Francis; Carmel M Hawley; Allison Jauré; Armando Teixeira-Pinto; Alistair R Mallard; Amelie Bernier-Jean; David W Johnson; Deirdre Hahn; Donna Reidlinger; Elaine M Pascoe; Elizabeth G Ryan; Fiona Mackie; Hugh J McCarthy; Jonathan C Craig; Julie Varghese; Charani Kiriwandeniya; Kirsten Howard; Nicholas G Larkins; Luke Macauley; Amanda Walker; Martin Howell; Michelle Irving; Patrina H Y Caldwell; Reginald Woodleigh; Shilpanjali Jesudason; Simon A Carter; Sean E Kennedy; Stephen I Alexander; Steven McTaggart; Germaine Wong Journal: Pediatr Nephrol Date: 2022-10-20 Impact factor: 3.651
Authors: R Patrick Kelly; Shelley C Stoll; Tyra Bryant-Stephens; Mary R Janevic; Marielena Lara; Yvonne U Ohadike; Victoria Persky; Gilberto Ramos-Valencia; Kimberly Uyeda; Floyd J Malveaux Journal: Health Promot Pract Date: 2015-07-31