EmPhAsIS: Empowering Pharmacists in Asthma Management Through Interactive SMS

University of British Columbia271 enrolled

Overview

Between 8% and 12% of Canadians suffer from asthma. Although there are effective and inexpensive treatments, adherence to asthma treatment is amongst the lowest for all chronic diseases.The purpose of this study is to determine whether enhancing the role of community pharmacists in asthma management using interactive short messaging service (SMS) with asthma patients is a cost-effective model that will improve adherence to inhaled corticosteroid medications compared to usual care.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

271

Conditions

Asthma

Interventions

Interactive SMSOTHER

Usual careOTHER

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 14 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * individuals who fill a (incident or prevalent) prescription for inhaled corticosteroids (either monotherapy or in combination inhaler with long-acting beta-agonists) who have been diagnosed by a doctor as having asthma * possessing a cell-phone with ability to send/receive text messages * residing in British Columbia (BC), Canada and planning to reside in BC for the next 12 months * registered with the medical services plan (MSP, the provincial insure of medically-required services) in the past 12 months, and planning to remain registered for the next 12 months * designated pharmacy being the main drugstore for patient * not participating in another interventional study * consent to participate in the study. Exclusion Criteria: * Unable to communicate in English * Under 14 years of age

Locations (1)

UBC

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Adherence to inhaled corticosteroid medication

Adherence assessed by medication possession ratio

Time frame: 12 months

Secondary Outcomes

Asthma control

Asthma control assessed by the Asthma Control Test

Time frame: Baseline

Asthma control

Asthma control assessed by the Asthma Control Test

Time frame: 6 months

Asthma control

Asthma control assessed by the Asthma Control Test

Time frame: 12 months

Quality of life measured by the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire

Time frame: Baseline

Quality of life measured by the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire

Time frame: 3 months

Quality of life measured by the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire

Time frame: 12 months

Health care resource utilization

Asthma-related hospital admissions and emergency department visits

Time frame: 12 months

Use of reliever medication for acute asthma attacks

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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