Reduce Carbon Study
NHS Portsmouth Hospitals

Randomised control trial to understand whether prescribing choice for inhalers is influenced by knowledge of the carbon footprint

You are being invited to take part in the REDUCE Carbon study which has been designed by the Asthma team at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth in collaboration with colleagues across the Wessex Asthma Network.

Inhalers are the cornerstone of treatment for many lung conditions and are commonly used across the UK. There are a large number of inhalers and choosing the most appropriate device to meet individual patient needs can be challenging. A number of factors are usually considered, including ability of the patient to use the device and cost. However it is becoming recognised that inhalers have a significant impact on global warming, predominantly driven by the propellant gases used in metered dose inhalers, but up until now their environmental impact has not routinely been considered in prescription choice. We are looking to explore prescribing behaviours surrounding inhaler selection and what information, including knowledge of the carbon footprint, may influence this choice.

Please also use the following links if you'd like further information:

I am a healthcare professional but I do not prescribe inhalers for patients. Can I still take part in the study?

Yes. As both prescribing and non-prescribing healthcare professionals can have a major influence on inhaler choices we would encourage non-prescribing healthcare professionals to complete the questionnaire based on their knowledge and experience recognising these are recommendations and not prescriptions.

What will happen if I take part?

You will be asked to complete an online questionnaire after reviewing the Wessex Asthma Network guidelines. There are 4 questions and 4 inhaler choice scenarios which should take less than 10 minutes to complete. The questionnaire is not a test of clinical practice but designed to allow us to better understand factors affecting inhaler recommendations.

How will you use the information about me?

We will need to use information from you for this research project. You will not be asked to provide any personally identifiable information. We are collecting data about where you work and your job role but it will not be possible to identify who has completed the questionnaire. People will use this information to do the research or to check your records to make sure that the research is being done properly. We will keep all information about you safe and secure. Once we have finished the study, we will keep the answers to the questionnaires for 5 years so we can check the results. We will write our reports in a way that no-one can work out that you took part in the study.

What are your choices about how your information is used?

You can stop being part of the study at any time, without giving a reason, but we will keep information about you that we already have.

We need to manage your records in specific ways for the research to be reliable. This means that we won’t be able to let you see or change the data we hold about you.

Where can I find out more information about how my information is used?

You can find out more about how we use your information:

What if I change my mind?

You can stop being part of the study before submitting the questionnaire without giving a reason. However once you have submitted the answers to the questionnaire it will not be possible to change your responses or withdraw your completed questionnaire from the research database as they are anonymous.

What will happen to the results of the research study?

The results will be published but there will be no way of identifying you or your data from the published results. The published data will also be available on the Wessex Asthma Network Website.

Who has reviewed the study?

This study is HRA approved and has been approved by Research and Development departments across the region.

Chief Investigator
Dr Thomas Brown,
Department of Research and Innovation,
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust

Thank you for taking the time to read this information sheet. If you would like to take part, please confirm the following statements and then click the Next Page button below.