New MySpira unlimited plan now available to integrated care systems across England

Educational app teaches children about asthma and correct inhaler use

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Published: 27th January 2023

Educating children through gamification

MySpira, the world’s first augmented reality children’s asthma1 and inhaler training app, is now available for licensing across entire integrated care systems (ICSs).

Asthma attacks are the most common reason for urgent admissions to hospital in children and young people in England, but 75% of asthma admissions are thought to be preventable2. Preventable admissions are generally attributable to incorrect use of inhalers, often due to insufficient time to train young patients in the clinic.

MySpira teaches 6–13-year-olds what asthma is and how to manage it with a metered dose inhaler (MDI). Using a mobile phone, the child completes eight fun modules on the app, helping them better understand their disease and how to manage it. Research has shown that the MySpira app substantially outperforms leaflets or videos when measuring the user’s recall of critical asthma and inhaler information3.

For an annual licence fee of £20,000, GPs and asthma health care professionals will have unlimited access to licenses for MySpira to share with their patients, as well as access to a complete toolbox of promotional and educational material. MySpira has already been procured across one ICS in the East of England.

“Asthma can be a life-threatening condition but managing it properly can help keep sufferers symptom free. It is important that children are taught from a young age so they can take control of their asthma. The initial results of this trial are extremely promising, improving both technique and compliance. Not only does this lead to better health long-term, but if adopted nationwide, could dramatically reduce the number of emergency cases, resulting in fewer hospitalisations. We are looking at integrating this app into our existing asthma support services in the future.”

Dr Simon Rudland, Surgery Partner at StowHealth Surgery in Stowmarket, Suffolk, speaking about MySpira

The license will also include all future upgrades, which will include new modules centred on addressing inequalities (as part of the NHS’s Core20Plus5 strategy), sustainability and enhanced learning tools. The license supports digital inclusion for families across the UK, encouraging and providing full availability and access in public spaces, such as schools, libraries, clinics and nurseries.

David Lee-Allen: Headmaster of Stowmarket High School, said

“We believe that better health equates to better learning. We downloaded the MySpira app onto our school iPads to support our asthmatic pupils. As a result, our students are more confident about managing their asthma – and we have even noticed fewer school days being lost compared to last year. We hope to continue using MySpira on a longer-term basis.”

MySpira is compliant with Digital Technology Assessment Criteria for health and social care (DTAC) and has been developed by Orbital Media in Stowmarket, Suffolk, in collaboration with the University of Suffolk. Health Innovation East is a partner with Orbital Media in MySpira.

Find out more

To find out more about MySpira and your option in adopting the app across your organisation, contact innovator.enquiries@healthinnovationeast.co.uk.

References

  1. MySpira. Press Toolkit. [Online]. Available at: https://www.myspira.com/presskit/ [Accessed 27 January 2023].
  2. Asthma UK. (2014). Time to take action on asthma. Available: https://www.asthma.org.uk/globalassets/campaigns/compare-your-care-2014.pdf. Last accessed 10/05/21.
  3. Al-Naimi, S., Brady, P., Andrews, T. . (2021). Examining the Efficacy of a Novel Augmented Reality Mobile Delivery Platform for the Enhancement of Asthma Care Education for Children. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM). 15 (7).

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