Abstract
Asthma-trained nurses view patient preference as the most important consideration when selecting inhaler devices [1]. This is because they perceive that actively involving patients in treatment decisions and taking into account their device preferences can improve adherence to treatment. The aim of this study was to explore patients' perceptions of their inhalers in relation to choice and preference.
A postal questionnaire identifying potential influences on adherence was constructed using statements from interviews with asthma patients and then piloted among a wider sample to identify ambiguities and errors. The final questionnaire was sent to 757 asthma patients on preventer therapy randomly selected from 69 general practices who were asked to give their responses to each statement on a Likert scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
332 (44%) replies to the questionnaire were received. Although almost half of the respondents (46.7%) stated that they were confident that they could choose the most suitable inhaler devices for themselves, only two-fifths (38.2%) said they would take this opportunity if it was offered. Only one third (32.4%) of the patients reported that they had been offered a choice of inhaler devices. Two-fifths (39.3%) said they would prefer to use particular inhalers and two-thirds (59.3%) would prefer to take only one inhaler.
In this study, the majority of patients expressed an interest in choosing their inhaler devices, although most had not had the opportunity. Patient choice should be encouraged, whilst simplifying patients' medication regimens may assist in asthma self-management.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
Study funded by Astra Zeneca UK Ltd.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Coomber, J., Fletcher, M., Karbal, B. et al. Asthma inhalers and patient choice. Prim Care Respir J 14, 270 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcrj.2005.06.010
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcrj.2005.06.010