PLEASANT: Preventing and Lessening Exacerbations of Asthma in School-age children Associated with a New Term - a cluster randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation

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dc.contributor.authorJulious, Steven A.
dc.contributor.authorHorspool, Michelle J.
dc.contributor.authorDavis, Sarah
dc.contributor.authorBradburn, Mike J.
dc.contributor.authorNorman, Paul
dc.contributor.authorShephard, Neil
dc.contributor.authorCooper, Cindy L.
dc.contributor.authorSmithson, W. Henry
dc.contributor.authorBoote, Jonathan
dc.contributor.authorElphick, Heather
dc.contributor.authorLoban, Amanda
dc.contributor.authorFranklin, Matthew
dc.contributor.authorKua, Wei Sun
dc.contributor.authorMay, Robin
dc.contributor.authorCampbell, Jennifer
dc.contributor.authorWilliams, Rachael
dc.contributor.authorRex, Saleema
dc.contributor.authorBortolami, Oscar
dc.contributor.funderNational Institute for Health Researchen
dc.date.accessioned2017-05-26T09:12:34Z
dc.date.available2017-05-26T09:12:34Z
dc.date.issued2016-12
dc.date.updated2017-05-26T08:46:00Z
dc.description.abstractBackground: Asthma episodes and deaths are known to be seasonal. A number of reports have shown peaks in asthma episodes in school-aged children associated with the return to school following the summer vacation. A fall in prescription collection in the month of August has been observed, and was associated with an increase in the number of unscheduled contacts after the return to school in September. Objective: The primary objective of the study was to assess whether or not a NHS-delivered public health intervention reduces the September peak in unscheduled medical contacts. Design: Cluster randomised trial, with the unit of randomisation being 142 NHS general practices, and trial-based economic evaluation. Setting: Primary care. Intervention: A letter sent (n = 70 practices) in July from their general practitioner (GP) to parents/carers of school-aged children with asthma to remind them of the importance of taking their medication, and to ensure that they have sufficient medication prior to the start of the new school year in September. The control group received usual care. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome measure was the proportion of children aged 5–16 years who had an unscheduled medical contact in September 2013. Supporting end points included the proportion of children who collected prescriptions in August 2013 and unscheduled contacts through the following 12 months. Economic end points were quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained and costs from an NHS and Personal Social Services perspective. Results: There is no evidence of effect in terms of unscheduled contacts in September. Among children aged 5–16 years, the odds ratio (OR) was 1.09 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.96 to 1.25] against the intervention. The intervention did increase the proportion of children collecting a prescription in August (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.24 to 1.64) as well as scheduled contacts in the same month (OR 1.13, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.52). For the wider time intervals (September–December 2013 and September–August 2014), there is weak evidence of the intervention reducing unscheduled contacts. The intervention did not reduce unscheduled care in September, although it succeeded in increasing the proportion of children collecting prescriptions in August as well as having scheduled contacts in the same month. These unscheduled contacts in September could be a result of the intervention, as GPs may have wanted to see patients before issuing a prescription. The economic analysis estimated a high probability that the intervention was cost-saving, for baseline-adjusted costs, across both base-case and sensitivity analyses. There was no increase in QALYs. Limitation: The use of routine data led to uncertainty in the coding of medical contacts. The uncertainty was mitigated by advice from a GP adjudication panel. Conclusions: The intervention did not reduce unscheduled care in September, although it succeeded in increasing the proportion of children both collecting prescriptions and having scheduled contacts in August. After September there is weak evidence in favour of the intervention. The intervention had a favourable impact on costs but did not demonstrate any impact on QALYs. The results of the trial indicate that further work is required on assessing and understanding adherence, both in terms of using routine data to make quantitative assessments, and through additional qualitative interviews with key stakeholders such as practice nurses, GPs and a wider group of children with asthma.en
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Institute for Health Research (Health Technology Assessment programme)en
dc.description.statusNot peer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationJulious, S. A., Horspool, M. J., Davis, S., Bradburn, M., Norman, P., Shephard, N., Cooper, C. L., Smithson, W. H., Boote, J., Elphick, H., Loban, A., Franklin, M., Kua, W. S., May, R., Campbell, J., Williams, R., Rex, S. and Bortolami, O. (2016) ‘PLEASANT: Preventing and Lessening Exacerbations of Asthma in School-age children Associated with a New Term - a cluster randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation’, Health Technology Assessment, 20(93). doi:10.3310/hta20930en
dc.identifier.doi10.3310/hta20930
dc.identifier.endpage154en
dc.identifier.issn1366-5278
dc.identifier.issued93en
dc.identifier.journaltitleHealth Technology Assessmenten
dc.identifier.startpage1en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/4026
dc.identifier.volume20en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherNIHR Journals Libraryen
dc.relation.urihttp://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN03000938
dc.relation.urihttps://www.sheffield.ac.uk/scharr/sections/dts/ctru/pleasant
dc.rights© 2016, Queen’s Printer and Controller of HMSO. This work was produced by Julious et al. under the terms of a commissioning contract issued by the Secretary of State for Health. This issue may be freely reproduced for the purposes of private research and study and extracts (or indeed, the full report) may be included in professional journals provided that suitable acknowledgement is made and the reproduction is not associated with any form of advertising. Applications for commercial reproduction should be addressed to: NIHR Journals Library, National Institute for Health Research, Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre, Alpha House, University of Southampton Science Park, Southampton SO16 7NS, UK.en
dc.rights.urihttps://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/rights_and_permissions/en
dc.subjectCost-savingen
dc.subjectAdherenceen
dc.subjectInterventionen
dc.subjectContacten
dc.titlePLEASANT: Preventing and Lessening Exacerbations of Asthma in School-age children Associated with a New Term - a cluster randomised controlled trial and economic evaluationen
dc.typeReporten
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