Understanding Asthma: A Review of Patient Surveys
Author Information
Author(s): Stephen T Holgate, David Price, Erkka Valovirta
Hypothesis
What are the key issues in asthma management as perceived by patients and healthcare providers?
Conclusion
Improving patient education and communication between patients and healthcare providers may enhance asthma management and outcomes.
Supporting Evidence
- Patients often tolerate poor symptom control and have low expectations of therapy.
- Many patients lack knowledge about their asthma and the importance of treatment.
- Healthcare providers often misunderstand the severity of their patients' asthma.
Takeaway
Many people with asthma don't understand their condition well and often think they're doing better than they really are, which can lead to not taking their medicine properly.
Methodology
A review of 24 asthma patient surveys conducted between 1997 and 2003 in Europe and North America.
Potential Biases
Potential bias from the selection of surveys and the subjective nature of qualitative analysis.
Limitations
The review was qualitative and not a comprehensive meta-analysis due to study design variability.
Participant Demographics
The review included 57,817 patients (including 11,875 children) and 8,633 healthcare providers from 24 countries.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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