Feasibility trial of a digital self-management intervention ‘My Breathing Matters’ to improve asthma-related quality of life for UK primary care patients with asthma

Objective: to assess the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) and acceptability of an asthma self-management digital intervention to improve asthma-specific quality of life in comparison with usual care.Design and setting: a two arm feasibility RCT conducted across 7 general practices in Wessex, UK.Participants: primary care patients with asthma aged 18 years and over, with impaired asthma-specific quality of life and access to the internet.Interventions: ‘My Breathing Matters’ (MBM) is a digital asthma self-management intervention designed using theory, evidence and person-based approaches to provide tailored support for both pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of asthma symptoms.Outcomes: the primary outcome was the feasibility of the trial design, including recruitment, adherence and retention at follow-up (3 and 12 month). Secondary outcomes were the feasibility and effect sizes of specific trial measures including asthma-specific quality of life and asthma control.Results: primary outcomes: 88 patients were recruited (target 80). At 3 month follow-up, 2 patients withdrew and 6 did not complete outcome measures. At 12 month, 2 withdrew and 4 did not complete outcome measures. 36/44 patients in the intervention group engaged with MBM (median of 4 logins, range 0-25, IQR 8). Consistent trends were observed to improvements in asthma-related patient reported outcome measures.Conclusions: this study demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of a definitive randomised controlled trial that is required to determine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a digital asthma self-management intervention