Barriers to identifying occupational asthma among primary healthcare professionals: a qualitative study.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Occupational asthma (OA) accounts for one in six cases of adult-onset asthma and is associated with a large societal cost. Many cases of OA are missed or delayed, leading to ongoing exposure to the causative agent and avoidable lung function loss and poor employment-related outcomes. Enquiry about work-related symptoms and the nature of work by healthcare professionals (HCPs) is limited, evident in primary and secondary care. Potential reasons cited for this are time pressure, lack of expertise and poor access to specialists.

Aim

To understand organisational factors and beliefs and behaviours among primary HCPs that may present barriers to identifying OA.

Methods

We employed a qualitative phenomenological methodology and undertook 20-45 min interviews wit

SUBMITTER: Walters GI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8351481 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature