The latest paper to be published from the IMP²ART team reports on their qualitative study exploring the perspectives of clinical professionals and support staff on implementing supported self-management for asthma in UK general practice.
Some key findings
Priority and external influences
Although asthma was cited as a relatively high priority for health professionals - nurses especially - there were often reasons given why it was not higher. Competing demands of other clinical conditions in consultations, national guidelines and incentives all influenced the priority given to asthma and self-management support.
Practical barriers
Barriers to effective self-management support included time in consultations, poor attendance at clinics and action plans that were not sufficiently adaptable or did not print well in black and white.
Improving provision
Suggestions for initiatives to improve the provision of supported self-management include emphasising the evidence for benefit (to influence prioritisation), improving teamwork (including team-based education), engaging patients and adapting organisational strategies (including remote consulting) all of which need to fit within existing practice routines.
Technology offers some potential solutions (e.g., improved templates, app-based plans), but with the caveat that it must be integrated with the electronic health record and existing IT systems.
Next steps
The IMP²ART team now plan to develop a theoretically-based implementation strategy that will address patient, professional, organisational buy-in, provide team-based education and offer a range of practical options/tools, which can be adapted and integrated within existing routines of individual practices.
Full paper
The full paper in Primary Care Respiratory Medicine
Cite the paper as
Morrow S, Daines L, Wiener-Ogilvie S, Steed L, McKee L, Caress AL, Taylor SJC, Pinnock H. Exploring the perspectives of clinical professionals and support staff on implementing supported self-management for asthma in UK general practice: an IMP(2)ART qualitative study. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2017 Jul 18;27(1):45. doi: 10.1038/s41533-017-0041-y