Physician-Patient Communication Regarding the Potential Role of Workplace Exposures in Asthma Onset and Severity: Progress Towards Healthy People 2020

Abstract

Physician-patient communication is an essential element of care. In 2010, an estimated 13.5% of employed adults with current asthma communicated with a health professional about the role of work in the causation or exacerbation of their asthma. We aimed to assess progress toward the Healthy People 2020 goal seeking to increase the proportion of persons with current asthma who discussed with their health care provider whether their asthma was work related. Data from 25,417 non-institutionalized U.S. adult respondents of the 2018 National Health Interview Survey were analyzed. Adults employed at any time in the 12 months prior to the interview with a health-professional diagnosis of current asthma who have been told by a health professional that their asthma was probably work-related or ever discussed asthma work-relatedness were identified. Weighted proportions were calculated. An estimated 8.1% (95% CI, 6.4%–9.9%) of employed adults with current asthma (11.8 million) have been told that their asthma is work-related. Among those not so informed, 4.2% (95% CI, 2.8%–5.5%) ever discussed asthma work-relatedness. Considering responses from both questions, the proportion of employed adults with current asthma who communicated with a health professional about asthma work-relatedness was 12.0% (95% CI, 9.9%–14.1%). Proportion of employed adults with asthma who reported communicating with their health professionals about their asthma and work did not change substantially over time. Clinical decision support provided through electronic health records could enhance discussions of work-relatedness with adult patients with recent onset or worsening of asthma.