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Asthma 3+ Visit Plan: a qualitative evaluation
Author(s) -
Douglass J. A.,
Goeman D. P.,
Yu E. A.,
Abramson M. J.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
internal medicine journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 1444-0903
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-5994.2005.00851.x
Subject(s) - medicine , asthma , emergency department , qualitative research , quality of life (healthcare) , family medicine , physical therapy , medical emergency , nursing , social science , sociology
AbstractIntroduction : The Asthma 3+ Visit Plan is a Commonwealth primary care initiative to improve care for patients with moderate or severe asthma through visits to general practitioners (GP). Aims : To assess the use of, and barriers to, completing the Asthma 3+ Visit Plan in recurrent emergency department attendees; asthma knowledge, symptoms and quality of life were assessed before and after undertaking the plan. Methods : The design was a predominantly qualitative study. Consenting individuals who presented for emergency treatment for asthma were interviewed before and after completing the Asthma 3+ Visit Plan with their GP. Asthma knowledge, symptom control, quality of life and demographic information were collected and participants underwent in‐depth interviews for qualitative analysis. The setting was a tertiary teaching hospital and two suburban hospitals. The participants were 20 recurrent emergency attendees with asthma. Results : Individuals who completed the Asthma 3+ Visit Plan had significant improvements in asthma‐related quality of life and asthma knowledge. Qualitative interviews revealed that recurrent emergency attendees for asthma viewed the Asthma 3+ Visit Plan favourably. A good relationship with the GP appeared integral to the success of the Asthma 3+ Visit Plan and patient recall was an important factor in plan completion. Cost was also a barrier to patients completing the plan. Conclusion : Our findings support the Asthma 3+ Visit Plan as a discharge strategy for recurrent emergency attendees with asthma. (Intern Med J 2005; 35: 457–462)