GenerationOne Selected by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center for Mobile Health Pilot with Teen Asthmatics

MIAMI, May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- GenerationOne and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center collaborated on a 14-month clinical trial for testing mobile technology in aiding the management of teenagers with Asthma.

"Mobile phones represent an appealing technology for tailoring interventions and bridging knowledge to action in adolescents but there was limited knowledge in this area. This study will serve as a basis for efforts to secure funding for a larger clinical trial to fully test the efficacy of this intervention", said  Michael  Seid, PhD, principal investigator and a professor in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine and the Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence.

Adherence is a key to asthma control, but is challenging, particularly for kids. Through this pilot, Cincinnati Children's and GenerationOne developed and tested self-management interventions for adolescents with asthma that incorporate efficacious components that were tailored, via mobile technology, to adolescent needs. The goal was to develop and pilot test a personalized multimodal behavioral intervention incorporating motivation, knowledge, and problem-solving skills to overcome barriers to adherence in adolescents with moderate and severe persistent asthma.

"Asthma continues to impose a considerable health burden on the U.S. population, especially in adolescents.  GenerationOne was pleased to tailor a mobile program for Cincinnati Children's research program for testing teen's ability to use mobile devices in helping them control Asthma in real life situations," according to Jeff Wolf, Founder and CEO GenerationOne.

Subjects for the research were recruited from Cincinnati Children's Teen Health Center (THC). The GenerationOne mobile health platform was programmed with the medical content and protocols developed by Cincinnati Children's. Each participant received personalized messages and reminders via the participant's own cell phone. GenerationOne also offers a turnkey solution with provisioned phones for participants, but due to the age of this population, all participants opted to use their own phone. Researchers also had the ability to send ad hoc messages for both positive reinforcement and intervention requirements.

The high-level goals for the pilot were as follows:

• Examine the acceptability, for adolescents with moderate or severe asthma, of an intervention based on existing problem-solving and motivational interventions.
• Develop and beta-test a mobile-phone based platform for the intervention.
• Feasibility test and pilot test the intervention to determine short-term efficacy in adolescents with moderate or severe asthma.

Cincinnati Children's was pleased with the preliminary data that was produced through this initial research.  Both Cincinnati Children's and GenerationOne are committed to using technology to further progress in finding ways to reduce asthma morbidity and mortality.

About GenerationOne, Inc.  

ABOUT US:

GenerationOne (www.generationone.com) is the nation's first fully integrated, end-to-end wireless health platform that delivers next-generation cost containment for the health care industry while empowering individuals to manage their health and wellness. The mobile platform connects patients with round-the-clock health support and automated monitoring that enables real-time intervention. Patients, caregivers and health managers track and trend health changes and behavior through a clinician web-based dashboard.  GenerationOne's multi-tiered-offerings include a robust two-way communication platform with one-way and two-way outreach options, multi-way alerts, IVR capabilities, and a wide-range of health-oriented features. The solution can be implemented using patients' existing phones and mobile networks or using GenerationOne provisioned health-optimized mobile phones, and can support a wide-range of chronic care or wellness initiatives. GenerationOne Solution offers better patient engagement and compliance, early detection of warning signs, and improved care management flow efficiencies.

About Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center:

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is one of just eight children's hospitals named to the Honor Roll in U.S. News and World Report's 2010-11 Best Children's Hospitals. It is ranked #1 for digestive disorders and highly ranked for its expertise in pulmonology, cancer, neonatology, heart and heart surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, diabetes and endocrinology, orthopedics, kidney disorders and urology. Cincinnati Children's is one of the top two recipients of pediatric research grants from the National Institutes of Health. It is internationally recognized for quality and transformation work by Leapfrog, The Joint Commission, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and by hospitals and health organizations it works with globally. Additional information can be found at www.cincinnatichildrens.org.

Contact: Gloria Griessman, 404-431-9386

SOURCE GenerationOne, Inc.