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Ways in which school psychologists can identify suitable apps for supporting the self-management of asthma by students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2020

Brett E. Furlonger ,
Jasmine Chung ,
Marko Ostojic ,
Margherita Busacca ,
Dennis W. Moore ,
Angelika A. Anderson ,
Katrina Phillips  and
Levita D’Souza
Brett E. Furlonger*
Affiliation:
Department of Educational Psychology and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Jasmine Chung
Affiliation:
Department of Educational Psychology and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Marko Ostojic
Affiliation:
Department of Educational Psychology and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Margherita Busacca
Affiliation:
Department of Educational Psychology and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Dennis W. Moore
Affiliation:
Department of Educational Psychology and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Angelika A. Anderson
Affiliation:
University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
Katrina Phillips
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Levita D’Souza
Affiliation:
Department of Educational Psychology and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Brett E. Furlonger, Email: brett.furlonger@monash.edu
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Abstract

The effective management of chronic asthma requires long-term adherence to both pharmacotherapy and optimal self-management practices. The use of mobile applications (apps) offer a promising and cost-effective platform to support the self-management of asthma. However, students as consumers may not always be sufficiently knowledgeable to select the best app to link with the management of their condition. If school psychologists become familiar with apps, they may be better positioned to provide guidance to students about app selection and how to identify apps that include appropriate behaviour change techniques (BCT). Accordingly, the overall aim of this study was to present a method by which school psychologists could identify quality apps for the purpose of supporting students who need to self-manage chronic asthma. A directed content analysis was used to evaluate asthma apps, based on behaviour change content and app quality. A systematic selection process yielded a total of 36 apps (26 from iTunes, 12 from Google Play) that were evaluated using two published rating measures. Overall, apps contained limited BCTs and a low level of quality health information. Conversely, apps with higher quality health information utilised a larger range of BCTs than lower quality apps. It was concluded that while apps designed to support the management of asthma appear to be a potentially valuable addition to traditional interventions, the technology is still in its infancy, and school psychologists should be aware of the limited behaviour change content, age appropriateness of apps, and whether the health information provided is evidence-based.

Keywords

asthmaappsbehaviour changequalityself-management
Type
Articles
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , July 2020 , pp. 47 - 55
Copyright
© Australian Psychological Society Ltd 2020

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