Online Survey to Investigate Asthma Medication Prescription and Adherence from the Perspective of Patients and Healthcare Practitioners in England

Xiubin Zhang, Jennifer K Quint National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, W12 0BZ, United KingdomCorrespondence: Jennifer K Quint, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Level 9, Sir Michael Uren Hub, White City Campus, 86 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, United Kingdom, Email j.quint@imperial.ac.ukBackground: High short-acting β2-agonist (SABA) use and/or inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) underuse are common and are associated with poor asthma outcomes. This study explored patients’ and healthcare practitioners’ (HCPs’) perspectives to contextualize asthma treatment patterns observed in real-world studies.Methods: Data were collected using online surveys from HCPs and people with asthma (≥ 18 years old with a confirmed asthma diagnosis of any severity) who had consented to research participation through the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics.Results: In total, 76 HCPs and 63 patients were invited to take part. Of 48 valid HCP responders, 54.2% (n=26) reported scheduling an annual asthma treatment review with their patients and 83.3% of general practitioners (n=40) had prescribed repeated inhalers at the patient’s request. Of 47 valid patient responders, 57.4% (n=27) reported using their reliever (SABA) inhaler daily and 55.3% of patients (n=26) reported being prescribed a preventer inhaler. Of the total patient responders, 31.9% (n=15) reported that they never used their preventer inhaler. Consistent annual adherence with preventer inhalers was reported by 44.7% of all valid responders (n=21), while other patients admitted to using preventers intermittently.Conclusion: SABA and ICS prescription patterns are driven by a combination of HCP and patient factors. Opportunities exist to improve asthma control and behaviours around inhaler use.Keywords: asthma, adherence, healthcare professional, ICS, prescription, SABA