SMART-School-based Asthma Therapy

NCT ID: NCT06796387

Last Updated: 2026-01-21

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 330 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2026-12-31
• Study Completion Date: 2031-12-31

Brief Summary

The goal of this research trial is to: 1) Develop a SMART-SBAT protocol specifically designed for schools, 2) Evaluate the effectiveness of SMART-SBAT vs. usual care using a district wide, stepped-wedge type 1 cluster randomized trial and 3) Evaluate the process of implementing SMART-SBAT to contextualize effectiveness outcomes and inform future scale-up.

Detailed Description

Despite well-established asthma guidelines and effective preventive medications, many children with persistent asthma do not receive recommended daily anti-inflammatory therapy, and follow-up care with guideline-based step-up adjustments and specialty evaluation is inconsistent. Over a decade ago, in partnership with the Rochester City School District, the investigators co-developed the School-Based Asthma Therapy (SBAT) program to enhance adherence to guideline-based treatment through school-based directly observed therapy (DOT) of preventive medications. Research demonstrated reductions in exacerbations and asthma symptoms, and key stakeholders strongly supported program continuation and scale-up. However, despite its clinical impact, SBAT has not been broadly implemented or sustained outside research trials, and some children continued to have suboptimal asthma control. Recent guideline endorsement of single maintenance and reliever therapy (SMART) offers a timely opportunity to accelerate translation of evidence-based asthma care into real-world practice. SMART simplifies asthma management, improves symptom control, and enables rapid intensification of anti-inflammatory therapy when control remains poor, yet uptake in routine pediatric care remains limited. To address this critical implementation gap and advance pediatric asthma care, the investigators plan to initiate SMART-SBAT, integrating a single ICS-formoterol inhaler at school for both DOT and symptom-driven use. Because school nurses already manage reliever medications, replacing separate controller and reliever inhalers with a single ICS-formoterol inhaler simplifies medication management, facilitates rapid adoption of SMART within existing school health workflows, and enables a "natural" step-up in therapy when symptoms occur. By embedding guideline-recommended SMART delivery in schools, SMART-SBAT provides a pragmatic pathway to accelerate real-world implementation at scale. SMART-SBAT also provides a platform to evaluate treatment response under conditions of reliable medication exposure, including differential effects by asthma phenotype and environmental context, while facilitating specialty evaluation for children with ongoing poor control. Using a pragmatic Type 1 hybrid stepped-wedge trial, the investigators will evaluate effectiveness while simultaneously assessing implementation processes relevant to real-world delivery. Approximately 330 caregivers in SMART-SBAT and usual care schools will be enrolled for longitudinal surveys and medical record reviews to assess outcomes (primary outcome = urgent care and emergency visits for asthma over 12 months). Explanatory mixed-methods analyses will assess reach, fidelity, dose, and adaptations, and evaluate whether baseline clinical characteristics, environmental exposures, and social context modify response to SMART-SBAT. Findings will inform foundational components of a SMART-SBAT toolkit to support broader dissemination. By accelerating uptake of simplified, guideline-based therapy within routine school systems and enabling evaluation beyond adherence barriers, SMART-SBAT aims to reduce exacerbations, improve asthma control, and generate actionable evidence for scalable, high-quality asthma care.

Conditions

Asthma in Children

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

SMART-SBAT

In coordination and approval by the child's primary care or specialist provider, children will receive a single maintenance and reliever therapy (SMART) inhaler for school-based asthma therapy (SBAT). Supervised by the school nurse, children will use their prescribed SMART inhaler each school day for preventive therapy, with additional doses as needed to relieve symptoms. Follow-up control assessments will determine if a step-up in therapy may be warranted, and follow-up provider visits will be initiated through school-based telemedicine or in-person visits. An Asthma Coordination team (nurse and community health worker) will be available to coordinate asthma care between providers, pharmacies, schools and families, and provide additional pragmatic support as needed.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Enhanced Implementation of SBAT

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

For schools randomized to implementing SBAT, the program will include the components already available in comparison (usual care) schools (asthma symptom screening forms, access to telemedicine visits, and protocol for initiating DOT), as well as the following elements that will be facilitated with the support of an implementation team:

• Telemedicine asthma visits through school with primary care and/or specialist providers to prescribe needed initial medication as well as medication step-ups for DOT school-based DOT of preventive asthma medications
• Follow-up telemedicine asthma control assessments
• Centralized case management support
• Care coordination

Usual Care (UC)

Children enrolled in usual care schools will continue to receive asthma management through existing healthcare providers, schools will provide reliever inhalers as prescribed, and preventive asthma therapy is prescribed and delivered through normal channels. Each school year, all school nurses will receive a general orientation on guideline-based asthma management, including SMART and potential benefits of school-based asthma therapy, but standardized workflows or structured coordination will not be available for usual care schools. Caregivers and primary care providers will receive notifications of the child's asthma symptoms and recommendations for SMART therapy.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Usual Care

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

During student health services orientation, the SBAT team will recommend school-based DOT for all children with persistent or poorly controlled asthma, and will provide a simple asthma screening survey to assess symptoms and a written protocol for initiating DOT. Telemedicine visits and DOT are available for all children in the school district, but the implementation team will not help to facilitate these components within the usual care schools.

Interventions

Enhanced Implementation of SBAT

For schools randomized to implementing SBAT, the program will include the components already available in comparison (usual care) schools (asthma symptom screening forms, access to telemedicine visits, and protocol for initiating DOT), as well as the following elements that will be facilitated with the support of an implementation team:

• Telemedicine asthma visits through school with primary care and/or specialist providers to prescribe needed initial medication as well as medication step-ups for DOT school-based DOT of preventive asthma medications
• Follow-up telemedicine asthma control assessments
• Centralized case management support
• Care coordination

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Usual Care

During student health services orientation, the SBAT team will recommend school-based DOT for all children with persistent or poorly controlled asthma, and will provide a simple asthma screening survey to assess symptoms and a written protocol for initiating DOT. Telemedicine visits and DOT are available for all children in the school district, but the implementation team will not help to facilitate these components within the usual care schools.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Physician-diagnosed asthma, with moderate-severe persistent symptoms or poor control based on NHLBI criteria
• Age >=6 and =<12 years
• Attending school in Rochester City School District
• Caregiver >=18 years, and is able to understand and speak English or Spanish

Exclusion Criteria

• Caregiver inability to speak and understand English or Spanish. (*Participants unable to read will be eligible, and all instruments will be given verbally.)
• Having other significant medical conditions, including congenital heart disease, cystic fibrosis, or other chronic lung disease, that could interfere with the assessment of asthma-related measures.
• In foster care or other situations in which consent cannot be obtained from a guardian.

Based on prior studies, fewer than 10% of subjects are expected to be excluded based on these criteria.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 6 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 12 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Michigan State University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Rochester

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Jill Halterman

Professor of Pediatrics, Division Director Pediatrics/General

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Central Contacts

Jill S Halterman, MD, MPH

Role: CONTACT

jill_halterman@urmc.rochester.edu

5852755798

Maria Fagnano, MPH, MS

Role: CONTACT

maria_fagnano@urmc.rochester.edu

5852758220

Other Identifiers

STUDY00009394

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id