 "All
my young people, y'all need to take y'all medicine. 'Cause
you know what? You're not the only ones with asthma. Guess
what? Your girl Brat tat tat got asthma too" —
platinum-selling rapper Da Brat in a message loaded on
a special MP3 player.
It's clear that in this day and
age teens are more likely to listen to their music and
sports idols than to "the Man" — an umbrella
term which includes authority figures like parents,
teachers, police and, yes, physicians. Bearing this
in mind, a wireless technology firm and a Chicago-based
research team have set out to find a way to use star
power as a weapon in the war on poor youth asthma medication
adherence. Since poor adherence is a big problem in
Canada too (asthma accounts for a quarter of school
absenteeism here), the outcome of this hip, youth-oriented
study could signal the way to help lighten at least
one burden on our healthcare system.
Wireless company SixtySeven Kilohertz
worked with researchers at Chicago's Rush University
Medical Center and John H Stroger Jr Hospital in Cook
County to create what they've dubbed ADEPT (Adolescents'
Diseases Empowerment and Persistency Technology). Here's
how it works: 40 African American kids between 11 and
17 with asthma are being given wireless MP3 music players
that can download music files and games off the cellular
network. It's a lot of fun for the kids, with a healthy
catch — nestled in between the songs, there are
messages from asthmatic celebrities reminding listeners
to take their asthma medicine. Kids in the study are
also required to keep a weekly asthma symptom diary
about the device.
ADHERE
Y'ALL
Those leading the study are hoping that these messages
from celebrity asthmatics can help kids overcome any
shame they might feel because of their affliction. "When
a high profile artist or athlete, especially one with
asthma, discusses the importance of taking medication
or avoiding cigarettes, that is an extremely powerful
message to a young person," said Dr Giselle Mosnaim,
an allergy and immunology specialist at Rush in a press
release. Participating stars like White Sox slugger
Carl Everett and rapper DMX didn't let asthma hold them
back.
SixtySeven Kilohertz plans to sell
the ADEPT devices to the US public later this year for
about $60 CDN. There's still no word on availability
here, but it's hard to imagine Canadian MDs disagreeing
with hip hop superstar Ludascris's medical advice: "What
up? This is Ludacris howling at all the kids that have
asthma. Even if you're feeling good, it's very important
to take your medication so you can continue to feel
good. You understand me? Real important. Do that."
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