Recruiting

AQI & Asthma

Sponsor:

University of Pittsburgh

Code:

NCT07261423

Conditions

Childhood Asthma

Asthma Control

Asthma Exacerbation

Air Pollution, Risk Reduction Behaviors

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 8 - 17

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

EPA-AQI

Commerical-AQI

Education and plan

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if adding Air Quality Index (AQI) information to asthma action plans works to improve asthma outcomes in children. It will also learn about children with asthma who report being more sensitive to outdoor air pollution. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Does adding either information about the EPA-AQI or commercial AQI improve asthma outcomes over time?
  • Are there changes in nasal gene expression in children with asthma who report they are more sensitive to outdoor air pollution?

Researchers will compare EPA-AQI and the commercial-AQI groups to a control group to either AQI works to improve asthma.

Participants will:

  • Receive standardized outdoor air pollution education and an asthma action plan
  • Provide nose and blood specimens
  • Have visits every 4 weeks for 48 weeks, 10 will be conducted by telephone calls and 3 visits will be in person.

Conditions

Childhood Asthma

Asthma Control

Asthma Exacerbation

Air Pollution, Risk Reduction Behaviors

Study ID

NCT07261423

Start date

Feb 24, 2026

Status verified date

Feb, 2026

Completion date

Jan, 2030

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jan, 2030

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 8 - 17

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • A healthcare provider diagnosis of persistent asthma (Steps 2-5 as defined by US guidelines) or intermittent asthma (Step 1) + at least one severe asthma exacerbation (defined by American Thoracic Society (ATS)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) criteria as requiring at least 3 days of systemic steroids or an Emergency Department/Urgent Care visit requiring systemic steroids) in the prior 12 months
  • Home access to a smartphone or internet
  • Primary residence in Allegheny County, PA
  • One participant per household
  • Age 8 -17 years
  • Healthcare provider evaluation for asthma in the prior year

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of other active chronic respiratory diseases (e.g., cystic fibrosis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, etc.)
  • Neuromuscular disorder
  • Chronic disorder limiting independent ambulation (e.g., spastic quadriplegia, etc.)
  • Cyanotic heart disease
  • Plans to relocate from Allegheny County, PA in the next year (12 months)
  • Use of intranasal or oral/intramuscular/intravenous corticosteroids 4 weeks prior to randomization
  • Current participation in another asthma intervention trial

Study Design

Enrollment

351 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

active comparator: Control (Standard outdoor air pollution education + asthma action plan)

Control

experimental: EPA-AQI (Education+ plan + EPA-AQI)

EPA-AQI

experimental: Commercial-AQI (Education+ plan + commercial-AQI)

Commercial-AQI

Interventions

EPA-AQI

The EPA-AQI group will receive standardized outdoor air pollution education, standardized AQI education, instructions for AQI usage, and an asthma action plan containing information specific for the EPA-AQI, and will demonstrate the ability to navigate to the EPA-AQI via smartphone app or website.

Commerical-AQI

The commercial-AQI group will receive standardized AQI education, instructions for commercial-AQI usage, and an asthma action plan containing information specific for the commercial-AQI, and will demonstrate the ability to navigate to the commercial-AQI via smartphone or website.

Education and plan

Standardized outdoor air pollution education and standard asthma action plan

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in asthma control scores, over-time, between groups [ Time Frame: Baseline through 48 weeks, measured at 4 week intervals ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Pediatric Asthma Center

877-296-9026franziska.rosser2@chp.edu

Locations

UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

Recruiting

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15224

More Information

Sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Last update posted

Feb 27, 2026

Last verified

Feb, 2026

Keywords

  • childhood asthma
  • air quality index
  • AQI

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Pittsburgh on 2026-02-27.