Online asthma reviews
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the use of asynchronous consultations for reviewing asthma in primary care from the perspective of patients, healthcare professionals and organisations
IRAS ID
324691
Contact name
Hilary Pinnock
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 30 days
Research summary
An asthma review is a routine check-up of people with asthma that should be completed regularly, at least once a year in stable individuals. However, practical barriers (for example, busy work life, geographical distance etc.) sometimes limit effective regular reviews. Reviewing asthma using innovative technologies have the potential to improve health outcomes and reduce avoidable clinic visits.
Interactions of patients with healthcare professionals are typically categorised as (i) synchronous or real-time, a live consultation (for example, in-person, telephone or video consultation); (ii) asynchronous or ‘store-and-forward’, a non-concurrent consultation (for example, the transmission of clinical data from patients through email that allows a healthcare professional to review the data and provide feedback at a later time). Asynchronous consultations for reviewing asthma have increasingly been used as an option or adjunct to other methods of consultation in general practices across the UK. However, little is known about how asynchronous consultations are being used for reviewing asthma in general practices. Therefore, we aim to explore and understand the use of asynchronous consultations for reviewing asthma in primary care from the perspectives of patients, and healthcare professionals. We will observe healthcare professionals in their workplace about how they review people living with asthma using asynchronous consultations in up to four general practices. We will also conduct short interviews (approximately 15-30 minutes) with healthcare professionals and patients to capture their experiences and perceptions of using such review consultations.
We anticipate that the study will provide valuable insight into delivering asynchronous consultations for reviewing asthma in the context of routine primary care. The findings will inform the development of a practical toolkit and help design future interventions on asynchronous digital health for reviewing asthma in a way that will benefit patients, healthcare professionals and organisations.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/YH/0093
Date of REC Opinion
2 May 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion