Active Airways for Children and Young People With Asthma

The Feasibility of an Exercise and Asthma Educational Programme 'Active Airways' on Health Outcomes in Children and Young People With Asthma With All Severities

What is this study about? The investigators want to see if exercise and education sessions can help children and young people (aged 10-17) with asthma, manage the participants asthma better.

The investigators will place participants that are recruited to this study into one of three groups by a computer (randomly):

Group 1:

Usual Care: Continue with normal asthma treatment.

Group 2:

Education: Usual care + a 45-minute online asthma education class once a week.

Group 3:

Exercise & Education: Usual care + 3 exercise sessions a week and asthma education classes.

This research aims to identify if an exercise and/or asthma education programme, called 'Active Airways', is feasible and acceptable in the paediatric asthma patient. Feasibility, the primary outcome of this study, will be evaluated by calculating the percentage of people approached who participate in the intervention (recruitment) and the percentage who complete the intervention (retention and adherence). The investigators also want to see if the Active Airways programme could improve cardiorespiratory fitness, quality of life and lung function, reduce asthma attacks and reduce healthcare use.

Inclusion Criteria:

Willing and able to consent to participate in the trial

Able to understand written and spoken English

A diagnosis of Mild to Moderate Asthma or Severe Asthma based on the European Respiratory Society (ERS)/ American Thoracic Society (ATS) consensus statement on Severe Asthma

Able to participate in a formal exercise programme

Aged 10-17 years

Able to engage in focus groups

Approximately 130cm tall (to be able to complete cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET))

Exclusion Criteria:

Self-reported uncontrolled severe exercise-induced breathlessness

Required a course of antibiotics or oral corticosteroids within the 4 weeks prior to the study commencing

Children with severe co-morbidities that will not allow them to participate in an exercise programme e.g. Severe neuromuscular disorders, recent fractures or surgeries, cognitive or behavioural conditions.

Participant is unable or unwilling, in the opinion of the investigator, to give informed consent