Effectiveness of Home Visits in Adult Patients with Asthma: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of home visits is well discussed for children with asthma, but limited in adults.

OBJECTIVE: The present systematic review aimed to investigate the potential role of home visits in improving outcomes among adult patients with asthma.

METHODS: The systematic review was performed in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. An extensive literature search was conducted using databases such as PubMed, ProQuest, CINAHL, The Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar from inception to June 2019. The studies included were randomized controlled trials, which reported asthma outcomes in adult patients.

RESULTS: The literature search yielded 8331 publications, of which 63 studies were selected for full-text review, and of these studies, 9 studies with a total of 2011 patients were included in the final analysis. The included randomized controlled trials reported quality of life, asthma symptoms, exacerbations, health care utilization, and pulmonary function. Improvements in asthma outcomes were observed predominantly in quality of life. The effects on asthma symptom control were inconsistent. The evidence on the impact of home visits in asthma exacerbations and health care utilization was rather limited. There were no significant differences observed between intervention versus control arms in terms of pulmonary function; however, 1 study reported significant improvements in peak expiratory flow rate.

CONCLUSIONS: Home visits may serve as an adjuvant activity that complements the existing health care system-based initiatives. It may be concluded that home visits have the potential to improve outcomes in adult patients with asthma; however, the randomized controlled trials reviewed in the present systematic review reported several limitations that warrant further investigation.