Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2011 Dec 14:12:260.
doi: 10.1186/1745-6215-12-260.

Effect of a web-based chronic disease management system on asthma control and health-related quality of life: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Sara Ahmed  1 , Susan J Bartlett, Pierre Ernst, Guy Paré, Maria Kanter, Robert Perreault, Roland Grad, Laurel Taylor, Robyn Tamblyn
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effect of a web-based chronic disease management system on asthma control and health-related quality of life: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Sara Ahmed et al. Trials. .

Abstract

Background: Asthma is a prevalent and costly disease resulting in reduced quality of life for a large proportion of individuals. Effective patient self-management is critical for improving health outcomes. However, key aspects of self-management such as self-monitoring of behaviours and symptoms, coupled with regular feedback from the health care team, are rarely addressed or integrated into ongoing care. Health information technology (HIT) provides unique opportunities to facilitate this by providing a means for two way communication and exchange of information between the patient and care team, and access to their health information, presented in personalized ways that can alert them when there is a need for action. The objective of this study is to evaluate the acceptability and efficacy of using a web-based self-management system, My Asthma Portal (MAP), linked to a case-management system on asthma control, and asthma health-related quality of life.

Methods: The trial is a parallel multi-centered 2-arm pilot randomized controlled trial. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two conditions: a) MAP and usual care; or b) usual care alone. Individuals will be included if they are between 18 and 70, have a confirmed asthma diagnosis, and their asthma is classified as not well controlled by their physician. Asthma control will be evaluated by calculating the amount of fast acting beta agonists recorded as dispensed in the provincial drug database, and asthma quality of life using the Mini Asthma Related Quality of Life Questionnaire. Power calculations indicated a needed total sample size of 80 subjects. Data are collected at baseline, 3, 6, and 9 months post randomization. Recruitment started in March 2010 and the inclusion of patients in the trial in June 2010.

Discussion: Self-management support from the care team is critical for improving chronic disease outcomes. Given the high volume of patients and time constraints during clinical visits, primary care physicians have limited time to teach and reinforce use of proven self-management strategies. HIT has the potential to provide clinicians and a large number of patients with tools to support health behaviour change.

Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN34326236.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Relationship between MAP and Health Outcomes. MAP = My Asthma Portal.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Integration of MAP with the MOXXI EHR and nurse case-management system. DB = database. MAP = My Asthma Portal. EHR = Electronic Health Record. MOXXI = Medical Office of the Twenty-First Century.
Figure 3
Figure 3
MAP Home Page.
Figure 4
Figure 4
My Asthma Health Profile.
Figure 5
Figure 5
MAP Action Plan.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Nurse Case-Management Triage Patient List. OOC = Out of control. AP = Action plan.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Krahn MD, Berka c, Langlois P, Detsky AS. Direct and Indirect Costs of Asthma in Canada, 1990. CMAJ. 1996;154(6):821–831. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Carlton BG, Lucas DO, Ellis EF, Conboy-Ellis K, Shoheiber O, Stempel DA. The status of asthma control and asthma prescribing practices in the united states: Results of a large prospective asthma control survey of primary care practices. J Asthma. 2005;42:529–535. - PubMed
    1. Ehrlich P. Improving asthma control: Talk is not cheap. Annals of Allergy Asthma & Immunology. 2005;94:415–418. doi: 10.1016/S1081-1206(10)61111-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gaga M, Papageorgiou N, Zervas E, Gioulekas D, Konstantopoulos S. Control of asthma under specialist care - Is it achieved? Chest. 2005;128:78–84. doi: 10.1378/chest.128.1.78. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kips JC, Pauwels RA. Asthma control: where do we fail? [see comment][comment]. [Review] [25 refs] European Respiratory Journal. 2000;16(5):797–8. doi: 10.1183/09031936.00.16579700. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data