Bulletin

Issue: April 2005

News

Patient beliefs may delay asthma treatment

Patient beliefs may delay treatment in life threatening attacks of asthma, according to a research report co-authored by Ms Karen Donald, of La Trobe’s School of Physiotherapy.

Published in the March issue of Australian Family Physician, journal of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, it reported reasons why some asthma attack patients delayed seeking swift medical help.

‘Dislike of hospitals, wanting to manage their own symptoms, not wanting to call an ambulance, uncertainty of the severity
of attacks, not recognizing the signs of worsening asthma and lack of management plans may all contribute to a delay in accessing medical treatment in life threatening asthma attacks,’ Ms Donald said.

‘We know that people with asthma who have had a previous hospital admission are at a higher risk of future hospital admissions and death from asthma,’ she said.

Ms Donald looked at a small group of people between the ages of 18 and 55 years who had been admitted to hospital with asthma

‘Although the group was small, their attitudes were consistent with previous and larger studies,’ Ms Donald said.

‘The lack of written management plans for some people may have delayed access to care, an essential component of asthma self-management.

‘However, even patients with management plans tended to downplay the severity of their attacks.’

Commenting on the research, Professor Michael Kidd, President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, said that general practitioners were in an ideal situation to manage these patients.

‘Good asthma management depends upon regular medical review, having a written asthma plan and patient education. General practitioners can help identify this group of patients by asking about previous hospital admissions for asthma, address patient self-management issues, write asthma management plans and educate patients about following through with their asthma plans,’ he said.

Ms Donald who is both a lecturer and postgraduate student, was awarded the Faculty of Health Sciences Dean’s Scholarship in 2001 which allowed her to concentrate on her doctoral studies full time.

The scholarship has now finished and she is back on staff
part-time and studying part-time and due to submit in December this year.

The report in Australian Family Physician was the first publi-cation from her doctoral research and of a small preliminary study.

Her doctoral supervisors are Dr Helen McBurney, Associate Professor, School of Physiotherapy, Bendigo and Dr Colette Browning, Associate Professor, School of Public Health, Bundoora.

The main study is a multi-centred randomized controlled study with co-researchers from medical staff at several Melbourne hospitals. Ms Donald looks at personality, attitudes and behaviour as markers of how well adults with asthma self-manage their condition and whether they can be altered with coaching.

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