Volume 19 Issue 1 March 2010Original Research
Primary health care centres with asthma clinics:
effects on patients´ knowledge and asthma control
Pages 37-44
*Karin Lisspers, Björn Ställberg, Mikael Hasselgren, Gunnar Johansson, Kurt Svärdsudd
Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Family Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Received 24 June 2008 • Accepted 4 May 2009 • Online 22 July 2009
Abstract
AIM: To evaluate outcomes for patients attending primary care centres with and without asthma clinics.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey at 42 primary health care centres randomly selected according to organisation of asthma care, 14 with
complete, 14 with incomplete and 14 with no asthma clinic according to national criteria. 1,477 randomly selected patients 15-45 years
received two questionnaires. Outcomes were: patients’ knowledge of asthma; asthma control; and quality of life.
RESULTS: Patients attending primary health care centres with asthma clinics reported more knowledge of asthma but similar levels of
asthma control and quality of life. Patients who reported they had visited the asthma nurse during the last year had more knowledge but
similar asthma control and quality of life compared to patients who reported they had not. However, with more time allocated for the
nurse, 44% achieved asthma control compared with 27% at asthma clinics with less time (p<0.003).
CONCLUSIONS: Having an asthma clinic at a primary health care centre improves asthma patients’ knowledge of the disease, and better
asthma control is achieved if the nurse is allocated more time.
Keywords
Primary care, asthma management, clinics, knowledge, outcomes, assessment
* Corresponding author. Karin Lisspers Tel: +46 703524721 Fax: +46 241 498502 Email: k.lisspers@alfa.telenordia.se | |
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