Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol

How did telehealth impact asthma outcomes among Black and Latinx adults?

November 6, 2023

Compared with in-person office visits, telehealth may be as efficacious and is often preferred among Black and Latinx adults with moderate-to-severe asthma, especially for regular checkups, according to results of the PREPARE trial ancillary study involving 847 survey respondents.

• Visit type preference was surveyed by e-mail or telephone post-trial. Emergency medical record data on visit types and asthma outcomes were available for a subset (March 2020 to April 2021). 
• Among the participants with asthma care experience with both visit types, 42.0% preferred telehealth for regular checkups, which associated with employment (odds ratio [OR], 1.61), lower asthma medication adherence (OR, 1.06), and having more historical ED and urgent care asthma visits (OR, 1.10 for each additional visit) after adjustment.
• Emergency medical record data were available for 98 participants (62 telehealth, 36 in-person). Those with telehealth visits were more likely Latinx, from the Southwest, employed, using inhaled corticosteroid-only controller therapy, with lower BMI, and lower self-reported asthma medication adherence vs. those with in-person visits only.
• Both groups had comparable Asthma Control Test (18.4 vs. 18.9, P = .52) and Asthma Symptom Utility Index (0.79 vs. 0.84, P = .16) scores after adjustment.

Source:

Ugalde IC, et al. (2023, July 23). Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. Preference for and impact of telehealth vs. in-person asthma visits among Black and Latinx adults. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37490981/