Εffectiveness of a Digital Social Intervention in Primary Care

Summary

The goal of this study is to deliver a definitive randomised controlled trial to measure the effectiveness and assess cost-effectiveness of a digital social intervention for patients with asthma, composed of promoting engagement with online peer support in a primary care consultation, followed by engagement with online peer support for 12 months. The main questions/objectives this study aims to answer/address are:

* Does promoting engagement with an online health community in primary care help people with troublesome asthma to experience fewer asthma symptoms?
* To assess cost-effectiveness of the intervention (including quality of life, well-being, use of healthcare services etc); stakeholder satisfaction (patients and healthcare professionals) with the intervention; fidelity of protocol delivery; context in which positive outcomes can be triggered.

Conditions

• Asthma Intermittent, Uncontrolled

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

A digital social intervention by primary care clinicians

* Signposting to the online health community by explaining different sections of the website. * Introducing norms and values for passive (just reading) and active (writing posts) participation. * Motivation for engagement with the online health community, emphasising that it could be used ad hoc (e.g. when feeling unwell, or when they need information or emotional support). * Problem solving with respect to any difficulties/concerns. * Signing patients up to the online health community, by explaining terms and conditions. * Explaining the differences between posting publicly and privately (public posts are shared with third parties whereas private messages to other users are not shared). * Collection of baseline measures. Data will be entered into the study's online database. Patients will leave the consultation with a leaflet summarising all procedural matters in relation to signing up with the online health community and a reminder of their username and password.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute for Health Research, United Kingdom

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• City, University of London

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Cambridge

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Edinburgh

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Nottingham

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Surrey

  collaborator OTHER

• St George's, University of London

  collaborator OTHER

• Asthma UK

  collaborator OTHER

• Queen Mary University of London

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Anna De Simoni, PhD · Clinical Reader in Primary Care Research, Queen Mary University of London

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

99 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-02-25

Primary Completion

2027-12-31

Completion

2027-12-31

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations