Learning Health System for Asthma

Developing a National Learning Health System for Asthma to Reduce the Risk of Asthma Attacks and the Risk of Asthma Hospitalisations and Deaths

This study forms an initial phase of work aimed at developing a learning health system (LHS), whereby data relating to asthma is extracted from patient electronic health records (EHRs) across Scotland, analysed to explore variations in clinical practice and then shared with general practices to highlight any improvements that can be made so that they can better support people with asthma.

If successful, the investigators hope to progress to the main quality improvement phase involving an increased number of practices and then incrementally build this up to cover the whole of Scotland.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Asthma
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: No intervention

Detailed Description

The UK has amongst the highest rates of asthma in the world as well as some of the poorest health outcomes from asthma.

Investigations into asthma deaths in the UK have found that the way patients were managed in the time leading up to their death could be improved significantly and half of asthma deaths are potentially avoidable. For most people with asthma, symptoms can come and go and sometimes be erratic. To prevent these symptoms, there is a window of opportunity to intervene with the appropriate care. This window occurs between when someone experiences early symptoms like night cough or wheeze and when they experience a full-blown asthma attack.

Most people with asthma receive care primarily in their general practice. General practices have a history of using health information technology to care for their patients. The use of this technology over time has resulted in the creation of rich electronic healthcare data. Through this rich data there are opportunities to create a system whereby clinical management can be benchmarked and improvements highlighted.

This study forms an initial phase of work aimed at developing a learning health system (LHS), whereby data relating to asthma is extracted from patient electronic health records (EHRs) across Scotland, analysed to explore variations in clinical practice and then shared with general practices to highlight any improvements that can be made so that they can better support people with asthma.

If successful, the investigators hope to progress to the main quality improvement phase involving an increased number of practices and then incrementally build this up to cover the whole of Scotland.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 750000

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Edinburgh, United Kingdom, EH8 9AG
    • University ot Edinburgh

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients (with and without asthma) in Scotland registered with primary care practices from 2010-2015.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients registered with general practices across Scotland.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients from general practices that do not to opt-in to the study.
• Patients with a READ code recording dissent from use of their records for research purposes.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Other
• Time Perspectives: Retrospective

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Variations in clinical practice as assessed by data relating to asthma extracted from patient electronic health records.	Variations in clinical practice as assessed by data relating to asthma extracted from patient electronic health records.	At study completion (3 months)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Edinburgh
• Collaborators: NHS Lothian

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 3, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 31, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): September 30, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 6, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 19, 2016
• First Posted (Estimated): December 22, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 17, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 15, 2024
• Last Verified: August 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Respiratory Tract Diseases; Immune System Diseases; Lung Diseases; Hypersensitivity, Immediate; Bronchial Diseases; Lung Diseases, Obstructive; Respiratory Hypersensitivity; Hypersensitivity; Asthma
• Other Study ID Numbers: AC16078

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No