Recipient organisationNIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre
NIHR supportRecorded as supported by this research centre
PeriodJan 2025 — Jun 2025
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
People with asthma in the UK are more likely to have uncontrolled symptoms and suffer attacks than those in comparable European countries, yet many never receive the care that guidelines recommend. This matters because the gap is not about a lack of effective treatments—it is about access and engagement. The PACE programme aims to identify exactly why people with poorly controlled asthma cannot get or stick with appropriate care. The researchers will combine three approaches: reviewing what other countries or UK regions have done to improve asthma care engagement; analysing routine NHS data to pinpoint areas with the worst outcomes and see how people there use (or avoid) asthma services; and interviewing patients, GPs, and hospital staff to understand the real-world barriers different communities face. If this work succeeds, it will produce a detailed map of the obstacles—practical, social, and systemic—that prevent good asthma care. That understanding is a prerequisite for designing new, cost-effective service models that could eventually give people with asthma the tailored support they need, reducing attacks and hospital visits. This project does not test a new treatment; it lays the groundwork for a future programme that will design, test, and evaluate those models.
View original technical description
What is the problem?Adults and children living with asthma in the UK have worse control and suffer more asthma attacks than people in other high-income European countries. UK guidelines recommend management that could improve outcomes but, for a range of reasons, best (or even adequate care) is too often not accessible or does not engage patients.What does the PACE research programme aim to do?Our long-term aim is to improve services so that people with poorly controlled asthma can access and engage with care that meets their individual needs and preferences. However, before we develop new ideas, we need to understand the range of barriers that prevent people with asthma accessing and engaging with care in the UK.In this study we will:-Summarise findings from other research to find out what other countries or places across the UK have done to improve how people with asthma engage with care.-Use routine health service data to identify areas in the UK where asthma outcomes are particularly poor and explore how people in those areas use (or not) asthma services.-Scope the range of ‘real world’ problems faced by different communities and care providers by interviewing people with asthma and doctors and nurses in general practices and hospitals about asthma care in their area.When we have understood why people with asthma find it difficult to access or engage with appropriate care, we will develop a proposal for future research to improve access to and engagement with asthma services. In a full programme grant, we can design, test, refine and evaluate novel cost-effective service models to provide good asthma care for all.When we have understood why people with asthma find it difficult to access or engage with appropriate care, we will develop a proposal for future research to improve access to and engagement with asthma services.
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