Abstract
Aim
To investigate ownership and perceived utility of written asthma action plans (WAAPs) in general practice.
Methods
Questionnaires were completed by 225 adults and 75 children with GP-diagnosed asthma from 31 practices. Regression models for WAAP ownership allowed for confounders and clustering by practice. Five audio-recorded focus groups were conducted before questionnaire implementation and, 12 months later, six focus groups and additional in-depth interviews with 29 patients and 16 doctors were conducted. Transcripts were submitted to content and thematic analyses.
Results
A total of 37% of adults and 47% of children had WAAPs. Adults reporting spontaneous shortness of breath, an emergency presentation in the previous 12 months, or frequent GP visits were more likely to have a WAAP. Qualitative data indicated that few acknowledged receipt or use of one. Those who remembered receiving a WAAP found it useful in asthma management in conjunction with verbal advice given by their GP. WAAPs were perceived by some patients as an indicator of doctor competence which, in turn, was viewed as signifying better management of asthma by the patient even if the WAAP was never actually used.
Conclusions
Ownership of WAAPs is still low. Additional and more effective strategies are required to improve rates of GP prescription of WAAPs.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
Eleonora Del Colle is the Director of Pulmetrics Pty Ltd, the company that performed the spirometry for the study.
She is one of the Principal Authors of the National Asthma Council Spirometry Course for General Practitioners, and has been presenting this course nationally over the last 18 months. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sulaiman, N., Aroni, R., Thien, F. et al. Written Asthma Action Plans (WAAPs) in Melbourne general practices: a sequential mixed methods study. Prim Care Respir J 20, 161–169 (2011). https://doi.org/10.4104/pcrj.2011.00010
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4104/pcrj.2011.00010
This article is cited by
-
IMPlementing IMProved Asthma self-management as RouTine (IMP2ART) in primary care: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled implementation trial
Trials (2023)
-
Barriers to implementing asthma self-management in Malaysian primary care: qualitative study exploring the perspectives of healthcare professionals
npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine (2021)
-
Completing asthma action plans by screen-sharing in video-consultations: practical insights from a feasibility assessment
npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine (2020)
-
Exploring the perspectives of clinical professionals and support staff on implementing supported self-management for asthma in UK general practice: an IMP2ART qualitative study
npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine (2017)
-
Implementing supported self-management for asthma: a systematic review and suggested hierarchy of evidence of implementation studies
BMC Medicine (2015)