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Asthma Control: Home-Based Multi-Trigger, Multicomponent Environmental Interventions

Search Strategy

With the assistance of a CDC librarian, the team searched for published studies in the following databases: MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Web of Science, EMBASE, ERIC, and Sociological Abstracts. The team also searched bibliographic reference lists and accepted suggestions of studies from members of the team.

The team considered studies for inclusion if they:

  • Were primary research published in a journal or a technical or government report
  • Were published in English
  • Met minimum research quality criteria for study design and execution—specifically, using designs with before-and-after comparisons in the intervention group at least or comparisons across two groups receiving different levels of intervention
  • Were community-based
  • Evaluated one of nine identified asthma interventions
  • Addressed secondary or tertiary prevention

Studies for home-based environmental interventions were considered if they also:

  • Included at least one home visit
  • Were multicomponent
  • Were multi-trigger
  • Evaluated one or more outcomes of interest

The team searched for and accepted for possible inclusion studies published from 1966 to February 2008.

Search Terms (Medline)

Database: MEDLINE (OVID) 722 results

Note: Search was the same for the other databases with the exception of terminology (such as use of exp, and Boolean terms) which was adapted according to database requirements.

General Asthma

  1. (exp asthma/ or asthma.mp)
  2. exp Bronchial Hyperreactivity/mo, nu, pc, ec, ep, th
  3. *Respiratory sounds/nu, pc, ep, th
  4. (wheeze or reactive airway$).mp.
  5. or/1-4

Home Interventions to Reduce Environmental Triggers

  1. (trigger and (reduce or reduction$)).mp. [mp=title, original title, abstract, name of substance word, subject heading word]
  2. exp dust/ or exp allergens/
  3. (reduce or reduction$).mp. [mp=title, original title, abstract, name of substance word, subject heading word]
  4. 7 and 8
  5. 6 or 9
  6. exp air pollution, indoor/lj, ec, pc, sn or *dust mites/
  7. allergen level$.mp.
  8. exp Patient Education/ or exp Health Education/mt, ec, og, ed, st, sn, lj, ut or exp "Patient Acceptance of Health Care"/sn
  9. remediation.mp.
  10. exp Environmental Remediation/ae, an, lj, ec, mt, st
  11. exp intervention studies/
  12. 14 or 15
  13. 16 and 17
  14. environmental control.mp.
  15. exp Inhalation exposure/
  16. exposure reduction$.mp.
  17. 10 or 11 or 12 or 13 or 18 or 19 or 20 or 21
  18. 5 and 9
  19. 5 and 10
  20. 23 or 24

Study Designs/Evaluations

  1. Randomized Controlled Trials/ or randomized trial$.mp. or program$.mp.
  2. controlled trial$.mp.
  3. impact$.mp. or exp Sickness Impact Profile/
  4. study effectiveness.mp.
  5. effectiveness of study.mp.
  6. effectiveness of stud$.mp.
  7. exp Program Evaluation/ or evaluation$.ab.
  8. trial$.mp. or "Randomized Controlled Trial [Publication Type]"/
  9. or/86-93

Exclusions

  1. case report$.mp. or exp "Case Reports [Publication Type]"/
  2. comment$.mp. or exp "Comment [Publication Type]"/
  3. letter$.mp. or exp "Letter [Publication Type]"/
  4. newspaper article$.mp. or exp "Newspaper Article [Publication Type]"/
  5. news.mp. or exp "News [Publication Type]"/
  6. drug approval/ or drug evaluation/ or neurotic disorders/ or antibodies, monoclonal/ or randomized controlled trials/ or "United States Food and Drug Administration"/ or research design/ or clinical trials/
  7. drug$ trial$.mp. or placebos/
  8. or/35-41

Asthma and included study designs/evaluations

  1. 5 and 34

Asthma + Home Interventions

  1. 5 and 25

Asthma + Home Interventions

Asthma + any of the above interventions or study designs-excluded study designs