Abstract Rationale Asthma is a highly prevalent chronic airway disorder affecting millions of individuals in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as Nigeria. Unfortunately, most of these individuals have sub-optimal symptom control, which has been associated with low physical activity (PA) levels. In LMICs, management of asthma is largely focused on pharmacotherapy, with little or no utilization of non-pharmacological approaches. Therefore, this study investigated the effectiveness of a physiotherapist-led behavioral change therapy (BCT) on PA levels and patient reported outcomes (PROs) among adults with asthma. Methods Adults (≥18 years) with physician-diagnosed moderate to severe asthma attending a tertiary health institution in Kano State, Nigeria were recruited to participate in this study (PACTR202408486728820). They were randomized to receive either an 8-week physiotherapist-led BCT plus usual care (BCT group) or usual care only (control group). Socio-demographic characteristics, PA levels (daily steps), asthma control (AC) and quality of life (QOL) were assessed at baseline, post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up. Data obtained was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results Twenty six (88.5% females; mean age: 34.3±12.1years) and twenty eight (82.1% females; mean age: 37.3±13.0 years) individuals with asthma completed interventions in the BCT and control groups, respectively. Results of the study indicated there there were no significant differences between the two groups at baseline (p 0.05). Repeated-measures MANOVA revealed significant time effects (Wilks’ λ = 0.014, F(6, 47) =549.26, p 0.001, ηp²=0.986) and group-by-time interactions (Wilks’ λ = 0.50, F(6, 47)=148.03, p 0.001, ηp² = 0.950) for all outcomes. Uni-variate analyses confirmed improvements in PA (F(2, 104) = 401.33, p 0.001, ηp² = 0.885), AC (F(2, 104) = 24.26, p 0.001, ηp²=0.318), and QOL (F(2, 104) = 1864.80, p 0.001, ηp²=0.973). At 8 weeks, individuals in the BCT group recorded PA (mean = 8142.89 vs. 4690.75 steps, p 0.001, d = 8.67), asthma control (mean = 0.99 vs. 1.62, p 0.001, d=-1.94), and QoL (mean =5.54 vs. 4.43, p 0.001, d = 5.83) measures, which persisted during 3-month follow-up (p 0.001, d = 1.51-8.09) compared to those in the control group. Conclusion It was concluded that a physiotherapist-led BCT intervention is effective in improving and sustaining PA levels and PROs among adults with asthma supporting its use as an effective approach for asthma management in similar settings (LMICs). This abstract is funded by: None
Mohammed et al. (Fri,) studied this question.