Recruiting

Εffectiveness of a Digital Social Intervention in Primary Care

ClinicalTrials.gov IDNCT06849245

PhaseNA

Enrollment600

SponsorQueen Mary University of London

Age18 Years

SexALL

I'm interested View official listing

Conditions studied

Asthma Intermittent, Uncontrolled

About this study

The goal of this study is to deliver a definitive randomised controlled trial to measure the effectiveness and assess cost-effectiveness of a digital social intervention for patients with asthma, composed of promoting engagement with online peer support in a primary care consultation, followed by engagement with online peer support for 12 months. The main questions/objectives this study aims to answer/address are: * Does promoting engagement with an online health community in primary care help people with troublesome asthma to experience fewer asthma symptoms? * To assess cost-effectiveness of the intervention (including quality of life, well-being, use of healthcare services etc); stakeholder satisfaction (patients and healthcare professionals) with the intervention; fidelity of protocol delivery; context in which positive outcomes can be triggered.

Interventions

Behavioral: A digital social intervention by primary care clinicians — * Signposting to the online health community by explaining different sections of the website. * Introducing norms and values for passive (just reading) and active (writing posts) participation. * Motivation for engagement with the online health community, emphasising that it could be used ad hoc (e.g. when feeling unwell, or when they need information or emotional support). * Problem solving with respect to any difficulties/concerns. * Signing patients up to the online health community, by explaining terms and conditions. * Explaining the differences between posting publicly and privately (public posts are shared with third parties whereas private messages to other users are not shared). * Collection of baseline measures. Data will be entered into the study's online database. Patients will leave the consultation with a leaflet summarising all procedural matters in relation to signing up with the online health community and a reminder of their username and password.

Primary outcomes

Control of asthma (Baseline and very three months in a 12 month follow-up period)

Eligibility information

Inclusion Criteria: To participate in the study, participants will need to: * Be adult asthma patients (aged 18 to 99) who have expressed their interest in digital social interventions in the recruitment survey. * Report troublesome asthma (i.e. an ACT score of less than 20) in the recruitment survey). * Be competent to consent for themselves, as determined by the healthcare professional delivering the consultation. There are no specific criteria for selecting participants for the exit interviews (a convenience sample of patients and clinicians will be used and recruitment will continue until data saturation). Exclusion Criteria: * Patients who are already members of the Asthma + Lung UK online health community or other asthma online health communities/Facebook groups (i.e. general use of social media will not prevent participation). * Palliative or end of life patients. * Patients receiving institutional long-term care (receiving total care in residential homes or living in nursing homes). * Patients considered unsuitable to take part in the study by their general practitioners/nurses. There are no specific criteria for selecting participants for the exit interviews (a convenience sample of patients and clinicians will be used and recruitment will continue until data saturation).

Study locations

South West Peninsula Regional Research Delivery Network, Exeter, United Kingdom
East Midlands Regional Research Delivery Network, Leicester, United Kingdom
North London Regional Research Delivery Network, London, United Kingdom
North East and North Cumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
East of England Regional Research Delivery Network, Norwich, United Kingdom

Before you participate: Varda Clinical is an independent discovery tool, not the study sponsor or a medical provider. Eligibility can only be determined by the official study team. Discuss potential risks and benefits with a qualified healthcare professional.

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov. Record last refreshed by Varda Clinical: 2026-09-27.