AIM2ACT: Applying Interactive Mobile health to Asthma Care in Teens

UF’s AIM2ACT project uses mobile health technology that researchers hope will help adolescents and their parents or caregivers identify asthma management goals, develop behavioral strategies to meet those goals and strengthen communication skills between kids and parents. The study targets adolescents with asthma between the ages of 12 and 15 and their parents.

“The reason we picked this age range is this is an age when parents look to teenagers to take more responsibility for their care, but sometimes kids aren’t interested in doing that yet, they aren’t prepared, or they don’t have the knowledge or skills to take on that increased responsibility, even though they may want to,” said David Fedele, Ph.D., the study’s lead investigator and an assistant professor in the department of clinical and health psychology at the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions.

AIM2ACT is one of the first mobile health interventions to target health maintenance in early adolescence. In the first stage of the project, an advisory board of 10 pairs of teens and parents will evaluate the AIM2ACT mobile application and provide feedback to developers. In the second phase, researchers will test AIM2ACT in a larger group of participant pairs. After one week of real-time data gathering via smartphone, AIM2ACT offers suggestions for individualized asthma management goals, such as noticing signs of asthma episodes or carrying quick relief medications. Over a four-month period, the program supports families in meeting their goals through skills training and tips for problem-solving communications.