App for Asthma Connected Plus (A4A+): implementing Internet-of-Things (IoT) solutions to support asthma self-management

Self-management is more than self-monitoring

Asthma self-management is far more than logging peak flow and medication use.

Asthma attacks can be triggered by allergies (such as pollen) or viral infections and it is important that everyone with asthma knows what to do if their symptoms or peak flows show that their asthma is getting worse.  An action plan, agreed with their GP or asthma nurse, is therefore a particularly important component of self-management for people with asthma.

Other self-management support includes asthma education, communication with healthcare professions, lifestyle advice, help with medication adherence and (for some people) psychological treatments, and social support.

Connected asthma technology

New technologies such as smart inhalers, smart peak flow meters, pollen or pollution sensors and other smart gadgets connect to the internet to collect and transfer data.  When these emerging technologies work together to help people to manage their asthma, we called them ‘connected asthma’ technology or an internet-of-things (IoT) system’.   Increasingly, artificial intelligence can use all this data and provide feedback and advice to help people and their healthcare advisors to take the right decisions.

What we know

We know that supported self-management for asthma leads to better day to day control of asthma symptoms, less time off work or school and reduces the risk of an asthma attack.

We have identified a number of technological features that could support asthma self-management in a future connected asthma system.  Many people want technology to watch over them ‘silently’ (for example, using a smart inhaler which can watch how often they need rescue medication) so they don’t have to enter symptoms scores or readings every day.

Our programme of work

We aim to design and test the ‘App for Asthma plus’ (A4A+) connected asthma system.   This will be an IoT system that allows people with asthma to choose which devices they connect, if/when they want to share their information (for example with their doctor or nurse), and which is flexible so that new technologies can be connected later.  

We have developed a prototype ‘app’, and asked people with asthma, and clinicians for feedback on A4A+ and how they thought new connected technologies might help. We also looked at whether they trusted the ‘connected asthma’ technology to help them look after their asthma.

Recruitment now open

A4A Connected+ on the University of Edinburgh website

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