IMProving IMPlementation of Asthma self-management as RouTine Equity project (IMP2ART-E) The aim of our work People living with asthma in the UK have worse control and outcomes than other people in Europe. Asthma outcomes vary depending on where people live, how much they earn, age and ethnicity. Reducing health gaps across groups is a public health concern and action is needed to make asthma care fairer for everyone. Background of the project The IMP²ART programme is a six-year project ending in March 2026 aiming to help people with asthma manage their condition better, with personal action plans and tips for living well with asthma. We want to improve asthma care in UK doctors’ practices by helping healthcare workers improve their skills and provide more patient resources.We’ve designed a new way to help practices support asthma patients currently being tested in 144 practices in England and Scotland. We are using medical records, surveys, and interviews to see if this new approach works and checking if it’s a good use of NHS money.Our trial is testing if IMP²ART works overall, but will not tell us if it helps all groups of people equally. We want to make sure all people are getting the same benefit by, for example, giving extra support to practices that need it.These findings will help decide how NHS resources are used to improve asthma care.This project aims to address the gap and find the practices that need extra support. Our work-plan We will:Look at the results from the IMP²ART study, discuss these with patients and healthcare professionals working in asthma. Together we will create a list of important group characteristics (e.g. age, ethnicity, location).Use our IMP²ART data to see how costs and benefits are spread across different groups.Talk to people with asthma and healthcare workers about their experiences. We’ll ask their thoughts on how the approach could be changed for different groups.Bring together our findings to help find the best way to roll-out IMP²ART to improve asthma health outcomes for everyone and reduce health gaps.This work will start towards the end of the IMP²ART study, led by two mid-career IMP²ART researchers who will support early-career researchers, building leadership and management skills. Patient and public involvement We'll involve people with asthma through our IMP²ART advisory group. After sharing our ideas in June 2024, two members have agreed to work closely with us on the project. Do you have asthma or know someone who does? We need your help! Researchers at the University of Edinburgh want to learn from people living with asthma about their experiences of asthma and how they manage asthma day-to-day.Interviews will last about 1 hour and can be over the phone, online, or in person.Further information outlining the research in more detail and what would be involved if you decide to take part is available in our Participant Information Sheet. Download the Participant Information Sheet and Consent Form If you feel that this research may be of interest to you, or if you have questions about the study, please contact the research team by email on IMP2ART@ed.ac.uk or by phone on 07391860644. Sharing our results and what we expect We’ll use our findings to expand IMP²ART's impact and guide future work. We’ll share our findings widely through conferences, journal articles, summaries and video clips for the public.Our goal is to make sure IMP²ART provides better care for everyone with asthma, making the most of NHS resources. Funding IMP²ART-E is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research under its Programme Development Grants Programme (Award ID: NIHR208908) This article was published on 2026-04-07
