AsthmaHAPNCT01128348
A Patient Advocate and Literacy-Based Treatment of Asthma
A study testing patient advocate in people with Asthma, run by University of Pennsylvania at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Half of US adults have no more than basic reading and numerical skills. A consequence is inadequate health literacy, which is associated with unsatisfactory patient-provider communication and poor health outcomes in chronic diseases, including asthma. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Asthma
- What is being tested?
- patient advocate
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 100 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Sep 2009to Aug 2011
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- physician's diagnosis of asthma
- prescribed inhaled steroid
- moderate or severe asthma according to NHLBI Guidelines
- evidence of reversible airflow obstruction and improvement with bronchodilator
- Did not participate in the experimental arm (problem-solving) of WIN Study, HL073932
Who cannot join
- significant other current pulmonary or cardiac disease
- severe psychiatric problems making it impossible to understand or carryout the protocol
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104
About this study
Half of US adults have no more than basic reading and numerical skills. A consequence is inadequate health literacy, which is associated with unsatisfactory patient-provider communication and poor health outcomes in chronic diseases, including asthma. We have adapted a patient navigator intervention to address asthma in high risk communities as a practical, immediate, and sustainable method of achieving effective health literacy in patients low health literacy. This intervention will lead to improved adherence and asthma control, attenuating health disparities so marked in asthma. It is compared for efficacy and cost-effectiveness with asthma education.
Read the detailed description
This application addresses broad Challenge Area (05), Comparative Effectiveness Research, and Specific Challenge Topic 05-MD105, Health Literacy. Half of US adults have no more than basic reading and numerical skills; inadequate health literacy is a consequence. It is associated with unsatisfactory patient-provider communication and poor health outcomes in chronic diseases including asthma. We found low numeracy to be associated with prior ED visits and hospitalizations for asthma and determined that numerical skill may attenuate the association of minority status with lower asthma-related quality of life. We propose a Patient Advocate Intervention (PAI) as the most practical immediate but sustainable method of achieving effective health literacy (EHL) (understanding of asthma management and the practice/health system). Adapted from the Patient Navigator of Harold P. Freeman, MD and informed by focus groups of asthma patients, the PAI addresses low literacy, facilitating patient-provider communication surrounding self-management and navigation of the practice and health system to ensure medical recommendations can be accomplished. The PA is a nonprofessional with guidance from a social worker who will assist with and model preparations for a visit with the asthma doctor, attend the visit, and afterwards confirm understanding as well as facilitate scheduling, obtaining insurance coverage, and overcoming other barriers to carrying out medical advice. The primary outcome is electronically-monitored use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), the treatment of choice for all but the mildest asthma. ICS use is a marker of successful patient-provider communication. Other outcomes are asthma-related: hospitalizations, ED visits, change in FEV1, and asthma-related quality of life. We hypothesize that the PAI will improve these outcomes by promoting EHL.
We will enroll 84 adults with a high prevalence of low numerical skills who are approximately 67% black and 10% Latino with moderate or severe asthma to carry out the following Specific Aims. Specific Aim 1: refine and evaluate the feasibility of PAI and Specific Aim 2: conduct a randomized comparison of PAI with standard asthma education to obtain effect size estimates for ICS adherence and asthma-related outcomes for a future R01 confirmatory randomized trial of the final version of PAI. Exploratory analyses will assess EHL as a mediator, various moderators, and estimate the incremental costs of PAI. This novel project fills several research gaps. It 1) compares and tests an intervention addressing literacy to improve health, one that can easily be incorporated into practice to better patient self-management and preventive care, 2) is a potentially long-lasting intervention which will benefit all patients, especially those with low health literacy, and 3) will potentially improve prevention of asthma exacerbations, reducing the need for ED use.
- Conditions
- Asthma
- Being tested
- patient advocate
- Keywords
- asthma, adherence, quality of life, health literacy, health disparities
- Medical subject headings
- Asthma
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
patient advocateBehavioural
patient advocate works with patient to navigate practice and social barriers and to facilitate patient-provider communication
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| patient advocate | Experimental | Patient advocate works with patient before, during, and after a visit to asthma doctor.
Patient receives video of asthma education materials Receives: Behavioral: patient advocate |
| asthma education | Active comparator | Patient receives video of asthma education materials Receives: Behavioral: patient advocate |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
adherence to prescribed inhaled corticosteroid regimen
Measured: 16 weeks
Secondary outcomes (5)
change in FEV1
Measured: 16 weeks
asthma-related quality of life
Measured: 16 weeks
asthma control
Measured: 16 weeks
emergency department visits for asthma
Measured: 16 weeks
hospitalizations for asthma
Measured: 16 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted21 May 2010 (estimated)
- Study startSep 2009
- Primary completionAug 2011
- Study completionAug 2011
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (4)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for AsthmaStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of PennsylvaniaThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Triple blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Pennsylvania
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Andrea Apter, University of Pennsylvania
- Investigators
- Andrea J Apter, MD, MSc, MA, Principal investigator, University of Pennsylvania
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT01128348
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 700
- Other IDs
- RC1HL099612
- Acronym
- HAP
- Status last verified
- Mar 2013
- First submitted
- 20 May 2010
- Last updated
- 20 Mar 2013
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
Publications
Black HL, Priolo C, Gonzalez R, Geer S, Adam B, Apter AJ. An analysis of contextual information relevant to medical care unexpectedly volunteered to researchers by asthma patients. J Asthma. 2012 Sep;49(7):731-7. doi: 10.3109/02770903.2012.699988. Epub 2012 Jul 13.
PubMed 22788543Black HL, Priolo C, Akinyemi D, Gonzalez R, Jackson DS, Garcia L, George M, Apter AJ. Clearing clinical barriers: enhancing social support using a patient navigator for asthma care. J Asthma. 2010 Oct;47(8):913-9. doi: 10.3109/02770903.2010.506681.
PubMed 20846085Krishnan JA, Schatz M, Apter AJ. A call for action: Comparative effectiveness research in asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011 Jan;127(1):123-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2010.08.032. Epub 2010 Sep 19.
PubMed 20855111Apter AJ, Wang X, Bogen DK, Rand CS, McElligott S, Polsky D, Gonzalez R, Priolo C, Adam B, Geer S, Ten Have T. Problem solving to improve adherence and asthma outcomes in urban adults with moderate or severe asthma: a randomized controlled trial. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011 Sep;128(3):516-23.e1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2011.05.010. Epub 2011 Jun 25.
PubMed 21704360
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 20 Mar 2013. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Patient Advocate and Literacy-Based Treatment of Asthma
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT01128348
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- HAP / 700
- Conditions
- Asthma
- Keywords
- asthma, adherence, quality of life, health literacy, health disparities
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of PennsylvaniaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- Study start
- Sep 2009
- Primary completion
- Aug 2011 (actual)
- Study completion
- Aug 2011 (actual)
- First posted
- 21 May 2010 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Half of US adults have no more than basic reading and numerical skills. A consequence is inadequate health literacy, which is associated with unsatisfactory patient-provider communication and poor health outcomes in chronic diseases, including asthma. We have adapted a patient navigator intervention to address asthma in high risk communities as a practical, immediate, and sustainable method of achieving effective health literacy in patients low health literacy. This intervention will lead to improved adherence and asthma control, attenuating health disparities so marked in asthma. It is compared for efficacy and cost-effectiveness with asthma education.
Detailed description
This application addresses broad Challenge Area (05), Comparative Effectiveness Research, and Specific Challenge Topic 05-MD105, Health Literacy. Half of US adults have no more than basic reading and numerical skills; inadequate health literacy is a consequence. It is associated with unsatisfactory patient-provider communication and poor health outcomes in chronic diseases including asthma. We found low numeracy to be associated with prior ED visits and hospitalizations for asthma and determined that numerical skill may attenuate the association of minority status with lower asthma-related quality of life. We propose a Patient Advocate Intervention (PAI) as the most practical immediate but sustainable method of achieving effective health literacy (EHL) (understanding of asthma management and the practice/health system). Adapted from the Patient Navigator of Harold P. Freeman, MD and informed by focus groups of asthma patients, the PAI addresses low literacy, facilitating patient-provider communication surrounding self-management and navigation of the practice and health system to ensure medical recommendations can be accomplished. The PA is a nonprofessional with guidance from a social worker who will assist with and model preparations for a visit with the asthma doctor, attend the visit, and afterwards confirm understanding as well as facilitate scheduling, obtaining insurance coverage, and overcoming other barriers to carrying out medical advice. The primary outcome is electronically-monitored use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), the treatment of choice for all but the mildest asthma. ICS use is a marker of successful patient-provider communication. Other outcomes are asthma-related: hospitalizations, ED visits, change in FEV1, and asthma-related quality of life. We hypothesize that the PAI will improve these outcomes by promoting EHL.
We will enroll 84 adults with a high prevalence of low numerical skills who are approximately 67% black and 10% Latino with moderate or severe asthma to carry out the following Specific Aims. Specific Aim 1: refine and evaluate the feasibility of PAI and Specific Aim 2: conduct a randomized comparison of PAI with standard asthma education to obtain effect size estimates for ICS adherence and asthma-related outcomes for a future R01 confirmatory randomized trial of the final version of PAI. Exploratory analyses will assess EHL as a mediator, various moderators, and estimate the incremental costs of PAI. This novel project fills several research gaps. It 1) compares and tests an intervention addressing literacy to improve health, one that can easily be incorporated into practice to better patient self-management and preventive care, 2) is a potentially long-lasting intervention which will benefit all patients, especially those with low health literacy, and 3) will potentially improve prevention of asthma exacerbations, reducing the need for ED use.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Triple blind (participant, investigator, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| patient advocate | Experimental | Behavioral: patient advocatePatient advocate works with patient before, during, and after a visit to asthma doctor. Patient receives video of asthma education materials |
| asthma education | Active comparator | Behavioral: patient advocatePatient receives video of asthma education materials |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- physician's diagnosis of asthma
- prescribed inhaled steroid
- moderate or severe asthma according to NHLBI Guidelines
- evidence of reversible airflow obstruction and improvement with bronchodilator
- Did not participate in the experimental arm (problem-solving) of WIN Study, HL073932
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- significant other current pulmonary or cardiac disease
- severe psychiatric problems making it impossible to understand or carryout the protocol
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| patient advocatepatient advocate works with patient to navigate practice and social barriers and to facilitate patient-provider communication | Behavioural | asthma education, patient advocate |
Primary outcome
adherence to prescribed inhaled corticosteroid regimen
Time frame: 16 weeks
5 secondary outcomes
change in FEV1
Time frame: 16 weeks
asthma-related quality of life
Time frame: 16 weeks
asthma control
Time frame: 16 weeks
emergency department visits for asthma
Time frame: 16 weeks
hospitalizations for asthma
Time frame: 16 weeks
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 20 Mar 2013.
- Background: PubMed 22788543Black HL, Priolo C, Gonzalez R, Geer S, Adam B, Apter AJ. An analysis of contextual information relevant to medical care unexpectedly volunteered to researchers by asthma patients. J Asthma. 2012 Sep;49(7):731-7. doi: 10.3109/02770903.2012.699988. Epub 2012 Jul 13.
- Background: PubMed 20846085Black HL, Priolo C, Akinyemi D, Gonzalez R, Jackson DS, Garcia L, George M, Apter AJ. Clearing clinical barriers: enhancing social support using a patient navigator for asthma care. J Asthma. 2010 Oct;47(8):913-9. doi: 10.3109/02770903.2010.506681.
- Background: PubMed 20855111Krishnan JA, Schatz M, Apter AJ. A call for action: Comparative effectiveness research in asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011 Jan;127(1):123-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2010.08.032. Epub 2010 Sep 19.
- Background: PubMed 21704360Apter AJ, Wang X, Bogen DK, Rand CS, McElligott S, Polsky D, Gonzalez R, Priolo C, Adam B, Geer S, Ten Have T. Problem solving to improve adherence and asthma outcomes in urban adults with moderate or severe asthma: a randomized controlled trial. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011 Sep;128(3):516-23.e1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2011.05.010. Epub 2011 Jun 25.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Andrea J Apter, MD, MSc, MA principal investigator
University of Pennsylvania
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing patient advocate in people with Asthma, run by University of Pennsylvania at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 20 Mar 2013. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
adherence to prescribed inhaled corticosteroid regimen (time frame: 16 weeks). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT01128348, which also lists 4 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 20 Mar 2013.