Improving Adherence to Inhaled Corticosteroids in Children With Asthma: A Pilot of a Randomized Clinical Trial

This study examined the efficacy of an educational and behavioral intervention designed to improve adherence to inhaled corticosteroids in children with asthma. Fifteen children and their caregivers were randomly assigned to either a targeted educational and behavioral intervention (treatment group) or a broader psychoeducational condition (comparison group). Given the small sample size, data were analyzed using pooled time series analysis (PTSA), a unique statistical methodology that treats observations for each participant as a separate case and provides statistical power in small samples. Participants in the treatment group showed significant improvements in adherence (16.38%) during the intervention. Participants in both groups also made clinically meaningful improvements in pulmonary function. This study addressed various limitations of previous intervention research and demonstrated that a targeted intervention including educational and behavioral components was effective in improving adherence to inhaled corticosteroids in children with asthma. Implications for adherence interventions are discussed.