RandomisED Control Trial to Understand Whether Prescribing Choice for inhalErs is Influenced by Knowledge of the CARBON Footprint (REDUCE Carbon)

NCT07825441 | Completed

• 3 other identifiers: PHU/2020/5128576821/HRA/5134
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 3,782
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Climate change is a huge and present threat, with the devastating effects being increasingly seen in everyday life. The NHS contributes substantially to the UKs carbon footprint with an estimated 23 million tonnes gCO2Eq per year, 3% of which comes from pMDIs. There are a number of alternative inhalers, such as DPIs, which do not use propellant and therefore have a significantly lower carbon footprint. There is a call to move towards greener inhalers as part of the NHS long term plan for sustainability, to reduce the carbon footprint and therefore the environmental impact and help protect the health of our patients today and in the future. When recommending an inhaler, a number of factors are usually considered including the ability of the patient to use the device and its cost. Up until now the environmental impact of each inhaler is not routinely available and therefore is not normally considered in prescription choice. Given the increasing evidence supporting the sizeable impact that pMDIs are having on global warming, there needs to be a shift in practice where the climate impact forms part of the decision-making process. This study is looking to explore prescribing behaviours surrounding inhaler selection and in particular whether knowledge of the carbon footprint of inhalers has any sway on prescribing preference. By better understanding the decision-making process, this will allow the production of more comprehensive asthma management guidelines and potentially facilitate a drive to greener inhaler prescribing practices.

Conditions

Asthma

Keywords

Carbon Footprint; Inhalers; Asthma; pMDIs

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Health Care Practitioner Preference

  The number and proportion of HCPs preferring high or low carbon inhalers between carbon-containing and non-carbon-containing groups, for each case separately and across all cases in total.

  At completion of the online questionnaire (approximately 10 minutes)

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Rank Order of Preference

  At completion of the online questionnaire (approximately 10 minutes)

• Inhaler Recycling Recommendation

  At completion of the online questionnaire (approximately 10 minutes)

• Inhaler Recycling Facilities

  At completion of the online questionnaire (approximately 10 minutes)

• Use of Wessex Asthma Network Guidelines

  At completion of the online questionnaire (approximately 10 minutes)

Study Arms (2)

Control Arm

OTHER

Participants receive the current standard Wessex Asthma Network inhaler guidelines with no information regarding the carbon footprint of individual inhalers

Other: WAN Inhaler guidelines only

Intervention Arm

OTHER

Participants receive the Wessex Asthma Network inhaler guidelines plus information containing the carbon footprint for individual inhalers.

Other: WAN Inhaler Guidelines plus carbon footprint information

Interventions

WAN Inhaler Guidelines plus carbon footprint information OTHER

Wessex Asthma Network inhaler guidelines plus the carbon footprint infromation for individual inhalers.

Intervention Arm

WAN Inhaler guidelines only OTHER

current standard Wessex Asthma Network inhaler guidelines with no information regarding the carbon footprint of individual inhalers

Control Arm

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Aged ≥18 years
• Working as an HCP within the NHS in a primary or secondary care setting
• Able to provide written e-consent
• Able to understand and complete the clinical case scenarios

You may not qualify if:

• Inability to understand or comply with study procedures and/or inability to give fully informed consent.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust: lead

Study Sites (1)

Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, Research Department

Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO63LY, United Kingdom

Location

Related Links

• Related Info

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Asthma

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Bronchial Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Lung Diseases, Obstructive; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Hypersensitivity; Hypersensitivity, Immediate; Hypersensitivity; Immune System Diseases

Study Officials

• Professor Thomas Brown

  Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER GOV
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Participants are randomised into either: * The Control arm- Participants receive the current standard Wessex Asthma Network inhaler guidelines with no information regarding the carbon footprint of individual inhalers * The Intervention arm- Participants receive the Wessex Asthma Network inhaler guidelines but which will contain the carbon footprint for individual inhalers.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 19, 2026
• First Posted: September 17, 2026
• Study Start: March 1, 2022
• Primary Completion: August 28, 2025
• Study Completion: August 28, 2025
• Last Updated: September 17, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

GB (1)