Leveraging Mobile Technology in a School-Based Participatory Asthma Intervention: Findings From the Student Media-Based Asthma Research Team (SMART) Study

Background: Asthma places a heavy burden on Chicago's schoolchildren, particularly in low-income, minority communities. Recently, our group developed a 10-week afterschool program, the Student Asthma Research Team (START), which successfully engaged high school youth in a Photovoice investigation of factors impacting their asthma at school and in their community. Purpose: The present Student Media-Based Asthma Research Team (SMART) intervention adapted START to target middle school students with asthma during the school day. The 13-week SMART intervention leverages recent trends in mobile technology and the power of participatory media to improve student asthma self-management and outcomes, while enhancing asthma knowledge and support at the school and community levels through a student-led participatory media-based campaign. Methods: To assess the effectiveness of SMART, pre/postintervention data were collected from student participants, their caregivers, and their classmates. Results: Pre/post assessments identified significant increases in participant asthma knowledge (z = − 2.83; P < .05), self-efficacy (z = 2.00; P < .05), control (z = 2.01; P < .05), lung function (z = − 3.41; P < .01), and empowerment (z = 2.00; P < .05). Participants also produced 4 educational videos. Through dissemination of these videos, peer (z = − 2.72; P < .01) and parental asthma knowledge (z = − 2.64; P < .05) increased. Parental asthma caregiver-related quality of life (z = 2.83; P < .01) also improved. Translation to Health Education Practice: Future health education work should consider leveraging ongoing advances in mobile technology and adopting a participatory media-based approach.