Empowering pharmacists in asthma management through interactive SMS (EmPhAsIS): study protocol for a randomized...

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Digital Health
• Respiratory Medicine

Background:

• Asthma medication adherence is challenging due to long-term treatment and symptom remission.
• Community pharmacists are well-positioned to address adherence issues.
• The Empowering pharmacists in asthma management through interactive SMS (EmPhAsIS) trial utilizes mobile health (mHealth) technology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of an mHealth intervention delivered by community pharmacists to improve asthma medication adherence.
• To assess the impact of the intervention on asthma control, quality of life, hospital admissions, and reliever medication use.

Main Methods:

• A pragmatic, cluster randomized controlled trial involving community pharmacies.
• Intervention group received patient education, monthly SMS adherence assessments, and pharmacist follow-up.
• Patients aged 14+ using inhaled corticosteroids with SMS-capable phones were eligible.

Main Results:

• Primary outcome: adherence to inhaled corticosteroids measured by medication possession ratio.
• Secondary outcomes: asthma control, quality of life, hospitalizations, and reliever use.
• A nested economic evaluation will assess cost-effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• Improving asthma medication adherence has significant potential to reduce the overall burden of the disease.
• This is the first study to investigate a mobile communication technology intervention involving community pharmacists for asthma management.