SMART Implementation-Effectiveness Trial 2 (SMART SIMPLE)

Single Maintenance And Reliever Therapy Strategies for IMPLementation and Effectiveness (SMART & SIMPLE) Trial

While single maintenance and reliever therapy (SMART) has been the preferred management strategy for Step 3 and 4 (moderate/severe) asthma management since the 2020 NIH asthma guideline updates, adoption of SMART has not been rigorously assessed. This study will test population health management (PHM; asthma community health worker, asthma nurse care manager) implementation strategies building on electronic medical record clinical decision support and education implementation strategies (CDS+), to increase adoption of SMART. This is the second of two related records.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Asthma in Children
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Clinical decision support + education (CDS+) and population health management (PHM); Other: Control

Detailed Description

Asthma is a leading cause of childhood morbidity nationwide. Limited provider adoption of and patient adherence to the prevailing evidence-based recommendations for chronic management represent tractable areas for care improvement and implementation focus. In their 2020 Focused Updates, the NHLBI codified a new paradigm of asthma management - single maintenance and reliever therapy (SMART) - as the preferred management strategy for Steps 3 and 4 (moderate/severe) asthma management. In addition to its efficacy and safety, SMART has demonstrated real-world effectiveness in international settings, likely due in part to better adherence to daily therapy and less inhaler confusion. However, SMART has not been widely implemented in practice in the U.S. This hybrid type II implementation-effectiveness study will sequentially compare the effects of usual care to (1) electronic health record-based clinical decision support plus education (CDS+) (Study 1) and then (2) CDS+ with population health management (PHM) strategies (community health worker and nurse care manager) on SMART adoption (Study 2 - current study). Randomization for this study is at the clinic-level. Results will be reported at visit-, patient-, and clinic-levels.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 18
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Chén Kenyon, MD, MSHP; Phone Number: 267-426-6339; Email: kenyonc@chop.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
      • Recruiting
      • Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
      • Contact: Chén Kenyon, MD, MSHP; Phone Number: 267-426-6339; Email: kenyonc@chop.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Clinic Inclusion Criteria:

• The clinic is a pediatric primary care clinic that is part of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Pediatric Research Consortium (PeRC).
• The clinic agrees to participate in SMART & SIMPLE study.

Clinic Exclusion Criteria:

- The clinic is not willing to participate in SMART & SIMPLE study interventions.

Patient Inclusion Criteria:

• Ages 5-18 years;
• Has clinic visit at participating practice during study interval (sick, well, or follow-up)
• Prescribed at least one prescription for an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) or ICS-long-acting beta agonist (ICS-LABA) for maintenance asthma therapy in the past year;
• Evidence of uncontrolled asthma as determined by: (1) uncontrolled Asthma Control Tool score in the past 6 months OR (2) two or more systemic corticosteroids prescribed for an asthma exacerbation in the past 12 months (one occurring in the past 6 months)

Patient Exclusion Criteria:

- Transferred clinics or left the CHOP Pediatric Care Network.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention; Clinics in Arm 1 will receive the interventions in Intervals 1 and 2. Interval 1 intervention: clinical decision support and education (CDS+). Interval 2 interventions: CDS and education (CDS+) and population health management (community health worker and nurse care manager) (PHM).	Behavioral: Clinical decision support + education (CDS+) and population health management (PHM); In Interval 1, intervention clinic providers will experience nudges in the electronic medical record to encourage prescribing SMART where clinically-appropriate and intervention clinic providers, families/patients, and nurses will receive education (collectively CDS+). In Interval 2, intervention clinics will have CDS+ and population health management (PHM) strategies, including an asthma community health worker and an asthma nurse care manager.; Other Names: CDS+ and PHM
Active Comparator: Control; Clinics in Arm 2 will not be exposed to the interventions.	Other: Control; Clinics in Arm 2 will not be exposed to the interventions.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in the Rate of Visit-Level SMART Adoption	The difference in the rate of SMART prescribing (initiation) among eligible primary care visits (i.e., when a child is eligible to start SMART) where SMART is first prescribed (initiated) comparing the second intervention period (Interval 2) and the first intervention period (Interval 1). Adoption is visit-level. The denominator represents eligible primary care visits, and the numerator represents visits where SMART is first prescribed (initiated).	Assessment of rates from two study intervals: Interval 1 (CDS+; 11 months), Interval 2 (CDS+ and PHM; 11 months). There will be a one month ramp up period at the start of each study interval (ramp up period data will not be included in analyses).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in the Proportion of Patient-Level SMART Sustainment	The difference in the proportion of patients who are prescribed (initiated) SMART who continue on SMART for at least 6 months comparing the second intervention period (Interval 2) and the first intervention period (Interval 1). Sustainment is patient-level. The denominator represents patients who are prescribed (initiated) SMART, and the numerator represents patients who continue on SMART for at least 6 months.	Assessment of proportions from two study intervals: Interval 1 (CDS+; 11 months), Interval 2 (CDS+ and PHM; 11 months). There will be a one month ramp up period at the start of each study interval (ramp up period data will not be included in analyses).

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in the Proportion of Clinic-Level SMART Penetration	The difference in the clinic-level proportion of SMART-eligible patients who are prescribed (initiated) and not subsequently discontinued from SMART by the end of the interval comparing the second intervention period (Interval 2) and the first intervention period (Interval 1). Penetration is clinic-level. The denominator represents patients who are SMART-eligible in each interval, and the numerator represents patients who are prescribed (initiated) during the interval and still on SMART at the end of the interval.	Assessment of proportions from two study intervals: Interval 1 (CDS+; 11 months), Interval 2 (CDS+ and PHM; 11 months). There will be a one month ramp up period at the start of each study interval (ramp up period data will not be included in analyses).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
• Collaborators: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 3, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 29, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 15, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 15, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): August 22, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): September 17, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 16, 2025
• Last Verified: September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Delivery of Health Care; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Socioeconomic Factors; Population Characteristics; Technology, Industry, and Agriculture; Technology; Audiovisual Aids; Educational Technology; Television; Videodisc Recording; Optical Storage Devices; Educational Status; Compact Disks; Population Health Management
• Other Study ID Numbers: 23-021702 B; R01HL173600 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No