REDUCE carbon study - looking for pharmacists to complete a study on inhalers

Inviting all pharmacists 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 many inhalers and choosing the most appropriate device to meet individual patient needs can be challenging. Several 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.

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.

The online questionnaire is 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 better understand factors affecting inhaler recommendations.

For more information and to complete the questionnaire:

• https://reduce.pttu.org.uk/

Further information:

• Detailed participant information sheet – please click here
• Contact the study team:
  • Portsmouth: 02392 286000 ext 4108 or respiratory.research@porthosp.nhs.uk
  • Wessex Asthma Network website: https://wessex-asthma.com/