Can Education for South Asians With Asthma and Their Clinicians Reduce Unscheduled Care? A Randomised Trial

People from ethnic minority groups suffer worse ill-health from asthma than those from majority groups. No studies have reduced emergency care for people from minority groups. We have developed an education programme to address barriers to improved care for south Asian people with asthma. The study is set in Tower Hamlets and Newham - the UK's most deprived and ethnically diverse boroughs. We will invite all the local GP practices to take part, and using a computer programme, randomised them (like tossing a coin) into two groups - a group receiving usual care and a group receiving our educational programme. This comprises:

• Education for specialist nurse and GPs and practice nurses, using our adaptation of an American education course, designed to improve shared-decision making, goal-setting and patient-clinician partnership.
• Lay-led 'expert-patient' education in small groups for patients, using an adaptation of another American course.
• Improved follow-up in primary care through appointment-booking by the specialist nurse.We will invite south Asians aged 3-65 years with asthma after A\&E attendance or hospital admission to take part. Those registered with practices receiving the educational programme will see the trial specialist nurse in a nurse-run clinic, where the nurse:
• provides self-management advice and a treatment plan,
• makes a follow-up appointment in primary care
• makes an appointment for lay-led 'expert-patient' sessions.Patients registered with 'usual care' practices receive usual care.