Multisystemic Therapy to Reduce Health Disparities in Adolescents With Asthma

Although rates of childhood asthma are increasing worldwide, more alarming is the disproportionate rise in rates of asthma among urban, disadvantaged, minority children. Inner city children, particularly adolescents, also appear to be most at risk for morbidity, mortality, and emergency department visits as a result of asthma. This may be caused by poor illness management.

Because of the multiple factors that affect whether or not a family is able to adequately manage a youth's asthma, educational interventions alone are typically insufficient to reduce morbidity and healthcare utilization, particularly in high-risk urban populations. As a result, more intensive, multi-component interventions are necessary to improve asthma management and outcomes for those youth at highest risk. MST is an innovative, flexible, home- and community-based family therapy that has been shown to improve health outcomes in urban children and adolescents with other chronic medical conditions such as type 1 diabetes and HIV infection. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of MST in improving health outcomes and reducing healthcare costs in high-risk urban adolescents with moderate to severe persistent asthma.

Participants will include high-risk African-American adolescents with moderate to severe asthma. High-risk youth are defined as those with one or more hospitalizations for asthma treatment in the previous 12 months. At a baseline hospital visit, participants will complete questionnaires and an interview, both of which will focus on the participant's family and asthma history. Participants will also have the option of having the study personnel visit their home instead. Participants will then be randomly assigned to receive either MST plus standard multidisciplinary specialty care or standard multidisciplinary care alone.

Participants assigned to MST will attend psychological treatment sessions in their homes for about 6 months. Treatment sessions will be attended by both children and parents, occur at a time designated by the participants, and last about 1 hour. Participants will also complete questionnaires about their interactions with the therapist and their satisfaction with treatment.

Participants assigned to standard multidisciplinary specialty care alone will receive weekly home-based, supportive family counseling for about 6 months. The treatment will provide emotional support to the family regarding asthma, help the family spot problems in asthma care, and address specific support that may help them with asthma management. Counseling sessions will last about 45 minutes.