Impact of Asthma Exacerbations: A Qualitative Study

The purpose of the study is to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of asthma attacks on the lives of patients who experience them. This will help us to describe the true extent of the impact of asthma attacks on factors of importance to patients which have not previously been well described, including the psychological, social, financial and emotional burden of asthma attacks.

Additionally, it is hoped that detailed questioning regarding features of asthma attacks from a patient perspective will improve our understanding of patient recognition of attacks, consistency of certain features of attacks and patient views regarding preventative strategies for attacks. Patient experiences of asthma attacks are poorly described in previous research. Hence this work is expected to provide useful insights into these experiences which will contribute to improvements in detecting, treating and preventing asthma attacks.

The study will consist of a one-off interview lasting about 45 minutes with patients who have recently had asthma attacks. We plan to recruit patients for the study from an outpatient clinic for those who have had a recent attack or from a register of patients who have volunteered for future asthma research studies. The interviews will take place in person at the Respiratory Research Unit at the Nottingham City Hospital or over the telephone depending on patient preference.