Abstract
Background: Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways affecting 3 millionCanadians. Primary Care Providers (PCPs) are integral to care coordination, enhanced through thedevelopment of a strong patient-PCP relationship with Continuity of Care (COC). A recent CIHI studynoted that 40% of Albertans do not have a COC model for primary care.Objectives: We aim to evaluate how primary care for adults with asthma impacts different measures ofcontrol.Methods: Prospective population-based recruitment of adults through various community venuesacross Alberta. Those who had self-reported asthma and were willing to participate completed a surveywhich included demographics, comorbidities, medication use (including biologics, allergy medications,steroids), Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-5), Asthma Control Test (ACT), Quality of Life (QoL)measured through the mini-Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (mini-AQLQ) and health care utilization(including Emergency Department (ED) visits, hospitalizations and ICU stays for asthma).Results: Of the 1685 individuals approached, 61 (3.6%) reported having asthma, of which 47 lived inAlberta. Most (41, 87%) had a PCP, with 30 (64%) visiting their PCP at least twice a year. Uncontrolledasthma was noted in 21 (45%) with either the ACQ-5 or ACT. The mini-AQLQ indicated 5 (11%) withreduced QoL. Mean lifetime hospitalizations, lifetime Emergency Department (ED) visits, and ICU staysrelated to asthma were 1.52, 4.55 and 0.25 respectively. Further, mean hospitalizations and ED visits inthe past 12 months related to asthma were 0.05 and 0.30 respectively.Conclusions: Asthma control was poor in 21 (45%) surveyed individuals, suggesting sub-optimal asthmamanagement in Alberta. Knowledge of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) was low, while ED and hospitalusage was high.
Highlights
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition of the airways which continues to impact the Canadian healthcare system (Reddel, Taylor, Bateman, Boulet, Boushey, Busse, and de Jongste, 2009)
National and international asthma guidelines agree that the primary goal of managing asthma is disease control, thereby leading to reduction in exacerbations, health care utilization and morbidity and mortality (Reddel et al, 2009; Lougheed, Lemière, Dell, Ducharme, FitzGerald, Leigh, and Boulet, 2010; Bateman, Hurd, Barnes, Bousquet, Drazen, FitzGerald, and Pizzichini, 2008) In Canada, Primary Care Providers (PCPs) are the entry point to the health care system, and play an integral role in chronic disease management such as asthma (Menec, Sirski, Attawar, and Katz, 2006; Haggerty, Reid, Freeman, Starfield, Adair, and McKendry, 2003; Canadian Institute for Health Information [CIHI], 2015)
Though Emergency Department (ED) visits are declining in Alberta, asthma remains a major health and financial burden (Rosychuk, Youngson, and Rowe, 2015; Hollander, Kadlec, Hamdi, and Tessaro, 2009)
Summary
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition of the airways which continues to impact the Canadian healthcare system (Reddel, Taylor, Bateman, Boulet, Boushey, Busse, and de Jongste, 2009). A key aspect to chronic disease management is having a strong and consistent patient-PCP relationship in primary care, forming the basis of the continuity of care (COC) model (Haggerty et al, 2003; CIHI, 2015). In Alberta, PCPs are often linked with Primary Care Networks (PCNs), which provide team-based collaborative efforts in addressing important primary health care needs, such as chronic disease management. Methods: Prospective population-based recruitment of adults through various community venues across Alberta Those who had self-reported asthma and were willing to participate completed a survey which included demographics, comorbidities, medication use (including biologics, allergy medications, steroids), Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-5), Asthma Control Test (ACT), Quality of Life (QoL) measured through the mini-Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (mini-AQLQ) and health care utilization (including Emergency Department (ED) visits, hospitalizations and ICU stays for asthma). Knowledge of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) was low, while ED and hospital usage was high
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
