A smart approach to asthma
management in pregnancy
Respiratory conditions have long been
a key area of research within Monash’s
Centre for Medicine Use and Safety.
For instance, over the years the centre
has delivered many advancements in
asthma management. In recent years,
this work has come to focus on asthma
management in pregnancy.
Asthma is among the most common medical
conditions affecting pregnant women. While
the safety of common asthma medications
for use in pregnancy is well established, many
asthmatic mothers-to-be put concerns about
their baby’s health ahead of their own and stop
taking their medication.
This potentially jeopardises the wellbeing of the
mother and the healthy development of the baby.
Poorly controlled asthma during pregnancy has
been linked with numerous maternal and perinatal
hazards, such as increased risk of pre-term birth
and low birth weight.
The Centre for Medicine Use and Safety is
pioneering the use of smartphone technology to
encourage pregnant women to better monitor and
manage their asthma. As principal investigator and
senior lecturer Dr Johnson George explains, the
strategy builds on the centre’s multidisciplinary
approach to asthma management in pregnancy.
“The centre developed a pharmacist-led,
multidisciplinary model of care for maternal asthma
management emphasising education and regular
monitoring,” Dr George says. “This was the focus
of recent PhD graduate Dr Angelina Lim.
Elida Zairina (left) with
Asuntha Karunaratne.
“As smartphones have become more user-friendly
and widely embraced, they provide the ideal
platform for an intervention encouraging selfmanagement and providing customised feedback.
In an age group where people are frequent users of
smartphones, an app to facilitate self-management
has great potential. And that’s what we’ve seen in
the trial just completed. Elida Zairina is focusing on
this research as part of her PhD.”
The intervention combines a smartphone app
with a Bluetooth-enabled handheld device for
self-monitoring lung function, asthma symptoms
and medication usage. Readings are automatically
transmitted to an online database and portal.
Customised feedback is provided to the patient,
while health care providers can access patient
information via the portal in real time.
Patients are immediately alerted to any changes in
symptoms and can follow up with their pharmacist
or physician in a timely manner. So they are better
informed and more in touch with their health and
health care providers. This is the first time such
technology has been investigated for remotely
monitoring lung function and optimising asthma
control during pregnancy.
Dr George says the centre drew on a wide range
of expertise in conducting the research. “The Mercy
and Royal Women’s hospitals were our main
partners in the project. We also drew on expertise
from the Austin Hospital, as well as Monash’s
departments of Epidemiology and Preventive
Medicine, and Electrical and Computer Systems
Engineering. Without them, the work wouldn’t have
happened. It was a large collaboration.”
By combining innovative use of technology with
a pharmacist-led, multidisciplinary strategy for
patient care, the Centre for Medicine Use and
Safety is effectively reducing the risk of poorly
controlled asthma during pregnancy – for mother
and baby alike.
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