Community-based asthma assessment in young children: adaptations for a multicentre longitudinal study in South Asia
Mohammad Shahidul Islam1, Samin Huq2, Steven Cunningham3
1Usher Institute, College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Insights
Implementing community-based asthma assessments in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is feasible despite challenges. Standardized methods and extensive training enabled successful respiratory health outcome evaluations in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Respiratory Medicine
- Global Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Childhood asthma assessment is difficult in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to a lack of standardized methods.
- This study addresses contextual challenges and adaptation strategies for community-based asthma assessment in resource-constrained settings in South Asia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility of implementing standardized, community-based asthma assessment methodologies in LMICs.
- To evaluate respiratory health outcomes in children aged 6-8 years over a 12-month period.
- To identify and overcome challenges in conducting pediatric respiratory research in resource-limited environments.
Main Methods:
- A 12-month follow-up study of 1512 children (aged 6-8 years) across four sites in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.
- Standardized data collection protocols, including caregiver-reported illness history via 'Child Cards'.
- Community-based lung function assessments using portable spirometers (pre- and post-exercise) and blood eosinophil counts.
Main Results:
- High follow-up rates (95.5%) and participation in lung function tests (81.5%) were achieved.
- Successful pre- and post-exercise spirometry in 88.6% and 85.7% of participants who attempted the tests.
- Key challenges included limited healthcare access, human resource shortages, and cultural diversity; addressed through localized planning and extensive staff training.
Conclusions:
- This study demonstrates the feasibility of applying spirometry and exercise challenge tests in community settings within LMICs.
- The findings provide confidence in building capacity for evaluating children's respiratory outcomes in future translational research.
Background:
Systematic assessment of childhood asthma is challenging in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) settings due to the lack of standardised and validated methodologies. We describe the contextual challenges and adaptation strategies in the implementation of a community-based asthma assessment in four resource-constrained settings in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.
Method:
We followed a group of children of age 6-8 years for 12 months to record their respiratory health outcomes. The study participants were enrolled at four study sites of the 'Aetiology of Neonatal Infection in South Asia (ANISA)' study. We standardised the research methods for the sites, trained field staff for uniform data collection and provided a 'Child Card' to the caregiver to record the illness history of the participants. We visited the children on three different occasions to collect data on respiratory-related illnesses. The lung function of the children was assessed in the outreach clinics using portable spirometers before and after 6-minute exercise, and capillary blood was examined under light microscopes to determine eosinophil levels.
Results:
We enrolled 1512 children, 95.5% (1476/1512) of them completed the follow-up, and 81.5% (1232/1512) participants attended the lung function assessment tests. Pre- and post-exercise spirometry was performed successfully in 88.6% (1091/1232) and 85.7% (1056/1232) of children who attempted these tests. Limited access to health care services, shortage of skilled human resources, and cultural diversity were the main challenges in adopting uniform procedures across all sites. Designing the study implementation plan based on the local contexts and providing extensive training of the healthcare workers helped us to overcome these challenges.
Conclusion:
This study can be seen as a large-scale feasibility assessment of applying spirometry and exercise challenge tests in community settings of LMICs and provides confidence to build capacity to evaluate children's respiratory outcomes in future translational research studies.
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