TRial to Assess Implementation of New research in a primary care Setting (TRAINS): a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial of an educational intervention to promote asthma prescription uptake in General Practitioner Practices

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> There is a marked increase in unscheduled care visits in school-aged children with asthma after returning to school in September. This is potentially associated with children not taking their asthma preventer medication during the school summer holidays. A cluster randomised controlled trial (PLEASANT) was undertaken with 1,279 school-age children in 141 general practices (71 on intervention and 70 on control) in England and Wales. It found that a simple letter sent from the family doctor during the school holidays to a parent with a child with asthma, informing them of the importance of taking asthma preventer medication during the summer relatively increased prescriptions by 30% in August and reduced medical contacts in the periods September to December. Also, it is estimated there was a cost-saving of £36.07 per patient. We aim to translate the PLEASANT trial findings into practices to optimise outcomes for patients and health services. <b>Methods /design:</b> This trial is&nbsp;a pragmatic cluster randomised implementation trial. A total of 1389 General Practitioner (GP) practices in England will be recruited into the trial; circa 694 GP practices will be randomised to the intervention group and 695 control group of usual care. The Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) will send the intervention and obtain all data for the study, including prescription and primary care contacts data. The intervention will be sent in June 2021 by postal and email to the Asthma Lead and Practice Manager.&nbsp;The intervention is a letter to GPs informing.