{"id":12033,"date":"2018-12-12T13:35:52","date_gmt":"2018-12-12T18:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/?p=12033"},"modified":"2018-12-19T15:05:32","modified_gmt":"2018-12-19T20:05:32","slug":"innovations-in-nursing-uri-study-helping-repair-asthma-patients-lungs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/2018\/12\/12\/innovations-in-nursing-uri-study-helping-repair-asthma-patients-lungs\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovations in nursing: URI study helping repair asthma patients\u2019 lungs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students in the Nursing graduate programs at URI have the opportunity to participate in studies like the TEAMS program, which lets nurses treat patients remotely<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A number of patients who suffer from asthma are bringing their condition under control, increasing their lung function and decreasing the frequency of asthma attacks \u2014 all without going to the doctor\u2019s office. The patients involved in a URI College of Nursing professor\u2019s study are benefitting from an emerging trend among nurses to increase patient care by treating them through technology.<\/p>\n

Nurses and nursing students in the URI College of Nursing Ph.D.<\/a> and Master of Science program<\/a>s have the opportunity to improve overall patient care while increasing their own skills and experience by participating in such studies spearheaded by the College’s faculty members.<\/p>\n

The Technology Enabled Asthma Management System (TEAMS) is a whole new way to help patients manage their asthma. Created by College of Nursing Assistant Professor Jennifer Mammen<\/a>, the system uses patients\u2019 smartphones to treat their condition any time, any place, making it easier and more convenient for them, which increases the level of care they receive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re taking primary care out of the office and into the home, via technology,\u201d said Mammen, a family nurse practitioner with a Ph.D. who joined the URI College of Nursing<\/a> in 2018. \u201cOften, the only time a patient sees a doctor is in the ER. No one really sits down and educates them about asthma, which is largely about self-management. That\u2019s what this program is really about. We\u2019re going to provide care quickly and conveniently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here for more information and to apply to the URI Family Nurse Practitioner program<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The app asks patients a series of simple questions about their condition each day: Did asthma limit your activity in the past 24 hours? Did you wake up because of your asthma last night? Patients also record their lung function using a digital peak flow meter provided to them. The patient\u2019s symptoms \u2014 or lack thereof \u2014 are automatically entered into a \u201csmart\u201d flowsheet, which assesses the patient\u2019s condition based on standard guidelines, calculates the asthma severity and recommends proper therapy.<\/p>\n

A nurse analyzes the information and provides feedback to the patient through screen sharing and regular tele-health video chats. The face-to-face chats take place every two weeks, and are structured to match patients\u2019 schedules, encouraging them not to procrastinate in seeking care.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople need to be seen wherever, whenever. I\u2019ll schedule meetings at all times of the day; that\u2019s the only way to get them,\u201d Mammen said, noting that asthma sufferers often don\u2019t get the information they need at the doctor\u2019s office. \u201cProviders don\u2019t always recognize when a patient has uncontrolled asthma, and may not have time to educate properly. People with chronic asthma often don\u2019t realize their symptoms can be controlled. We\u2019re changing the expectation of what asthma treatment is and helping them realize what it\u2019s like to live well with asthma. We\u2019re having some pretty dramatic results from this.\u201d<\/p>\n

One patient, for example, suffered from asthma and bipolar disorder, the latter of which often dominated the conversations with her care providers, leaving her asthma untreated. When she entered the study, she had only 43 percent of her normal lung function. After three months in the TEAMS program, she achieved 100 percent function and a dramatic reduction in symptoms.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said that she had never been asked about her asthma, just her anxiety, so she didn\u2019t really understand what was happening to her, and she didn\u2019t trust her doctors,\u201d Mammen said. \u201cWe were able to make a personal connection with her and show her how to manage her symptoms. Once she saw the positive effects, she was able to get past her biases and she changed her behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

The patient is typical of many asthma sufferers, who often manage effectively or know what it is like to be well controlled. Just 50 percent of asthma patients have the condition under control, a number Mammen said could be nearly 100 percent. Making treatment and education easy through the TEAMS program is helping volunteers in the study get there.<\/p>\n

\u201cAsthma patients are coming to us grossly uncontrolled, and leaving completely controlled,\u201d Mammen said. \u201cThis has a tremendous human significance. The program is increasing lung function and decreasing the frequency of symptoms. But most importantly, we\u2019re helping give people the ability to do their everyday activities and not lose their breath doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study\u2019s results have drawn national attention, this year earning an outstanding achievement award from the American Thoracic Society for Top Nursing Abstract. Mammen is continuing to refine the system, currently working with a group of 30 asthma patients, with plans to expand to a full-scale clinical trial soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students in the Nursing graduate programs at URI have the opportunity to participate in studies like the TEAMS program, which lets nurses treat patients remotely A number of patients who suffer from asthma are bringing their condition under control, increasing their lung function and decreasing the frequency of asthma attacks \u2014 all without going to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1710,"featured_media":12035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[83,85,15,18],"class_list":["post-12033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-asthma-management","tag-teams","tag-uri-academic-health-collaborative","tag-uri-college-of-nursing"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1710"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12033"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12206,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12033\/revisions\/12206"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}