DEFINE: professional and patient interviews pre-intervention
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development and Evaluation of an online FeNO-guided asthma management INtervEntion in primary care (DEFINE) - Investigating health care professional and patient views and experiences of FeNO-guided asthma management: an interview study.
IRAS ID
280486
Contact name
Sarah Tonkin-Crine
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford / Clinical Trials and Research Governance
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
Asthma is a common condition which affects the airways of the lungs. In people with asthma, swelling (also known as inflammation) can occur in the linings of the airways and make them narrower than usual. This can cause symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. If these symptoms flare up badly, people may get asthma attacks, which might need treatment with medicines to reduce inflammation (such as steroids) or admission to hospital.\n\nAt the moment, most health care professionals rely on patients’ symptoms to help them decide how to treat their asthma. However, how someone feels does not always match how much inflammation is in their airways or how likely they are to have an asthma attack. We are therefore developing an online package to support health care professionals in general practices with using a simple breath test called fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), which measures inflammation in the airways. \n \nAt the moment, FeNO is mainly measured in patients with severe asthma who attend hospital clinics. However, very few GP surgeries routinely use FeNO to help them monitor treatment in patients with milder forms of asthma. We would therefore like to find out why this is and ensure that our online package helps health care professionals in GP surgeries feel confident about using FeNO to get patients onto the right treatments at the right doses to prevent asthma attacks.\n\nThe main aim of the study is to find out healthcare professionals’ and patients’ views and experiences of FeNO-guided asthma management and their views on information materials about FeNO. We will carry out interviews with healthcare professionals and patients. We will also video record asthma review consultations in general practice where FeNO is available and interviews professionals and patients who took part in these consultations.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/SC/0235
Date of REC Opinion
2 Jul 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion