The PARC Project – Prescription Alerts for Reliever Inhalers in Children

The PARC Project (Prescription Alerts for Reliever Inhalers in Children) is a research study from University Hospital Southampton. The aim is to tackle a major issue: severe asthma attacks in children, which are a big worry for families and can be costly for the NHS.

The main goal is to discover if special, in-depth asthma reviews for children at high risk can effectively prevent these severe attacks and be a cost-effective approach for healthcare.

We are inviting children aged 1 to 17 years who have used their ‘reliever inhalers’ (like Salbutamol) frequently – specifically, 6 or more times in the last year. This high use often shows that their asthma isn’t well controlled and increases their risk of future attacks. Children don’t need an official asthma diagnosis to participate.

The key part of the study is a targeted enhanced asthma review, usually lasting about 30 minutes. These are carried out by our specially trained research nurses. The aim is to assess ways to effectively prevent these severe attacks and be a cost-effective approach for healthcare.

As part of our ongoing effort to involve eligible families, we are pleased to share that invites have been sent out to 32 children this week. This is a crucial step in reaching our goal of understanding if these reviews can reduce severe asthma or wheezing attacks over a 12-month period.