# Incentive-based Mobile Health Adherence Intervention for High Risk Children with Asthma

> **NIH NIH K23** · CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA · 2020 · $186,948

## Abstract

Project Abstract: Candidate: Dr. Kenyon is a general pediatrician and asthma health services researcher at
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where he leads the CHOP Network's Asthma Population
Health Workgroup. He completed a Masters of Science in Health Policy Research as a Robert Wood Johnson
Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. His long-term career goal is to become an independent
investigator who leads a research program focused on improving outcomes and reducing outcome disparities
for children with asthma using longitudinal health data to stratify and target high-risk populations for enrollment
in well-designed and empirically rigorous interventions. His proposed project would facilitate this goal.
Research: In this project, Dr. Kenyon proposes to build on promising preliminary data that demonstrates
feasibility and robust engagement of high-risk childhood asthmatics in an iteratively developed mobile health
technology intervention that leverages principles of behavioral economics to enhance inhaled corticosteroid
medication adherence. His first aim is to determine the effects of different strategies of financial incentive
withdrawal on adherence and health care utilization and cost in high-risk asthmatics ages 5-12 and their
caregivers by conducting a three-arm randomized controlled trial. His specific hypotheses are that longer
duration of financial incentive delivery, as well as medication adherence reminders and performance feedback,
will lead to better immediate and enduring controller medication adherence, as well as less health system
utilization and cost. In his second aim, he will investigate the potential mechanisms by which these intervention
strategies influenced adherence trajectories, implementing group-based trajectory models to identify and study
participants with sustained adherence. In his third aim, he will use mixed methods to explore caregiver and
child perceptions of intervention component acceptability and their influence on controller adherence trajectory.
Environment: CHOP has about 2,500 inpatient asthma admissions per year, the prevalence of asthma in
CHOP's 31 practice Kid's First Network ranges from 20-25%, and all practices are on a unified electronic
medical record with an asthma registry. This context provides a robust patient cohort and infrastructure for the
proposed study. Dr. Kenyon has assembled a strong multidisciplinary team of experts in epidemiology and
health services research (Drs. Feudtner and Asch), asthma outcomes and disparities research (Drs. Zorc and
Bryant-Stephens), child behavior change/maintenance (Dr. Miller), medication adherence (Dr. Gross), and
behavioral economics and health care innovation (Dr. Asch) to mentor and advise him through the planning
and execution of this project. CHOP and the University of Pennsylvania are committed to the success of young
investigators and have many unique resources to support the training plan and research of Dr. Kenyon,
inclu...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9858174
- **Project number:** 5K23HL136842-02
- **Recipient organization:** CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Chen Collin Kenyon
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $186,948
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-02-01 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9858174

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9858174, Incentive-based Mobile Health Adherence Intervention for High Risk Children with Asthma (5K23HL136842-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9858174. Licensed CC0.

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