K-HEALTH in AIR - Barcelona Pilot - Cohort

Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer

Status: Invitation-only

Conditions: Severe Asthma; COPD

Treatments: Other: Questionnaires: Baseline & every six months; Other: Characteristics of exacerbations; Device: Patient Empowerment; Other: EMR & registry data; Other: Air quality monitoring at patient's home; Diagnostic Test: Lung function Testing: Baseline & every six months & during exacerbations; Device: Physiological data - Beat One Watch; Device: Communication channel - Health Circuit Mobile App (Herranz C. JMIR 2023)

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06421402

HCB/2023/0126

101057693 (Other Grant/Funding Number)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The study protocol is part of the European (EU) project "Knowledge for improving indoor AIR quality and HEALTH" (K-HEALTHinAIR, 2022-2026 - registry 101057693), which focuses on enhancing our understanding of how poor indoor air quality (IAQ) affects human health. Specifically, the project aims to identify IAQ determinants of adverse health events and to explore the development of cost-effective strategies for the precise monitoring and improvement, of IAQ across Europe.

With the current study protocol, the Barcelona Pilot, at the Integrated Health District of Barcelona-Esquerra (AISBE, 520 k citizens), is conducting a cohort study over a two-year period (January 2024 to December 2025) to explore the relationships between IAQ (assessment of chemical pollutants in patients' homes) and health status (acute episodes) in multimorbid patients with chronic respiratory diseases (asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - COPD) over a two-year period.

The protocol investigates the effectiveness of customized interventions across four critical areas: i) Advanced lung function testing, ii) Continuous IAQ monitoring, iii) Advanced digital support to innovative clinical processes, and iv) Predictive modeling for early identification and management of exacerbations. The ultimate objective is to design and evaluate an innovative integrated care service aiming at enhancing both IAQ and the management of multimorbid patients with chronic obstructive respiratory diseases, with focus on COPD and severe asthma.

Full description

The study is structured as a comprehensive two-phase approach. From January to December 2024 (Phase I) the protocol focuses on the assessment, and refinement, of the four core components of the study: i) Enhanced lung function testing, ii) IAQ home monitoring, iii) Advanced digital support to innovative clinical processes, and iv) Predictive modelling for early detection and management of exacerbations. The main outcome at the end of Phase I is the design of an innovative integrated care service aiming at enhanced management of exacerbations and reduction of unplanned hospitalizations in high-risk patients.

From January to December 2025 (Phase II), the protocol aims to refine the novel clinical process, including the four core components alluded to above, as well as to evaluate the potential for healthcare value generation and scalability/transferability of the new integrated care service.

PHASE I (2024):

1. Enhanced Lung Function Testing: Adoption of oscillometry (forced oscillation technique) to measure respiratory system resistance and reactance, as a complementary tool of forced spirometry, exploring its potential for patients' monitoring and management of exacerbations.
2. Continuous Monitoring of IAQ at patients' homes: Assessment of advanced monitoring systems in patients' homes to continuously track air quality parameters, enabling the identification of environmental triggers linked to respiratory exacerbations.
3. Advanced Digital Support to innovative clinical processes with a two-fold aim: i) patient's empowerment for self-management of his/her condition, and ii) enhancing the role of the nurse case manager for early detection and management of exacerbations promoting share care agreements between the patient and the reference doctor (primary care physician and/or specialist). To this end, adoption of an Adaptive Case Management (ACM) Approach constitutes a key element.
4. Predictive Modeling: Development, and refinement, of machine learning-based modelling for early detection and management exacerbations. Key input data in the modelling approach will be: i) Clinical information (symptoms, Patient Reported Outcome Measures - PROMs), ii) Lung function testing, and iii) Patient's self-capturing physiological data through wrist sensors (health rate, heart rate variability and physical activity). Moreover, the impact of IAQ monitoring in the modelling will be explored.

The implementation, and refinement, of the four components alluded to above, as well as the design of the novel integrated care service, will be done with active engagement of patients, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders in a co-design process using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) methodology. Two PDSA cycles, with a six-month duration each, will be undertaken during 2024.

PHASE II (2025):

From January to December 2025, two additional PDSA cycles (six-month duration each) are planned to cover the following objectives:

1. Refinement of the novel integrated care service for enhanced management of exacerbations, as well as the implementation and continuous assessment of the four core components described in PHASE I.
2. Assessment of the outcomes of the novel integrated care service using the Quintuple Aim framework, that is, considering: i) Healthcare outcomes, ii) PROMs/Patient Reported Expirence Measures (PREMs), iii) healthcare professionals' engagement, iv) operational costs, and v) assessing equity. Comparison with conventional care will be done using a propensity score matching to elaborate a control group.
3. Evaluation of the process of deployment of the service using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to identify barriers/facilitators for achieving a sustainable adoption, target candidates for the novel service, as well as potential for service transferability to other sites.

At the end of PHASE II, a mature service design ready for adoption should be available. Besides fulfilment of the objectives of K-Health in Air, the key lessons learned in the two-years period should provide novel insights for enhanced management of chronic patients with multimorbid conditions.

(Enclosed find: i) the Patient's Informed Consent approved by the Ethics Committee, as well as ii) the study protocol approved by the Ethics Committee of the Hosptial Clínic de Barcelona (HCB-2023-0126)).

Enrollment: 200 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: Under 85 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Aged Maximum 85 years
• Diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary conditions such as COPD or treatment-resistant asthma.
• Exhibiting a high burden of co-morbidities, assessed above the 80th percentile of the regional risk stratification pyramid using Adjusted Morbidity Groups (AMG) scoring.
• Residing in Barcelona-Esquerra, except for treatment-resistant asthma patients, live in any district of the city of Barcelona.

Exclusion criteria

• Dementia.
• Inability to perform independent daily activities.

Trial design

200 participants in 2 patient groups

Follow-up 200 high-risk chronic respiratory outpatients for 2 years.

Description:

The INTERVENTION (PHASE I, 2024) will have four components: i) Assessment of Lung Function Testing, ii) Monitoring of IAQ at patients' homes (and analysis of the relationships between IAQ and health events), iii) Evaluation of advanced digital support to a novel clinical process to enhance early identification and management of exacerbations (questionnaires, chat, patients' self-capturing sensors, and iv) Development, and refinement, of machine learning-based predictive modelling for supporting clinical decision making. During PHASE II (2025), the INTERVENTION will consist of the assessment (Quintuple Aim) of the novel integrated care service, as well as the evaluation of its potential for scalability (CFIR). See inclusion/exclusion criteria and planned measurements in the enclosed documents.

Treatment:

Other: Questionnaires: Baseline & every six months

Device: Physiological data - Beat One Watch

Other: EMR & registry data

Diagnostic Test: Lung function Testing: Baseline & every six months & during exacerbations

Other: Characteristics of exacerbations

Device: Patient Empowerment

Device: Communication channel - Health Circuit Mobile App (Herranz C. JMIR 2023)

Other: Air quality monitoring at patient's home

Control Group

Description:

The control group will be introduced in Phase II (2025) to estimate the potential for healthcare value generation of the novel integrated care service. It will include patients with equivalent characteristics who receive standard of care practice, without the interventions carried out in the cohort group. The control group will be shaped using 1-to-1 propensity score matching techniques. Data from the control group will be obtained from electronic medical records and registry information. In a randomly selected subset of 50 individuals from the control group a Quintuple Aim assessment will be done.

Treatment:

Other: EMR & registry data