Planned primary health care asthma contacts during 12-year follow-up after Finnish National Asthma Programme: focus on spirometry.
Jaana TakalaPinja IlmarinenLeena E TuomistoIida VähätaloOnni NiemeläHannu KankaanrantaPublished in: NPJ primary care respiratory medicine (2020)
Primary health care (PHC) providers are at the front line of asthma management. To evaluate how planned asthma follow-up occurred in PHC and whether lung function tests were used, 203 patients were followed for 12 years as part of a real-life asthma cohort Seinäjoki Adult Asthma Study (SAAS). A total of 152 patients had visits in PHC attending on average to four planned contacts during 12-year follow-up corresponding to one visit every third year. National guideline recommends annual visits. Patients with ≥4 contacts seemed to have more difficult asthma and better adherence to inhaled corticosteroid medication. Lung function tests were performed on average in 87.5% of annual planned follow-up contacts. Spirometry was performed in 70%, 71% and 97% of all contacts depending on whether it was a contact to GP, nurse or both. Overall, the frequency of follow-up contacts was insufficient but PHC adherence to lung function testing was excellent.
Keyphrases
- lung function
- cystic fibrosis
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- air pollution
- end stage renal disease
- newly diagnosed
- ejection fraction
- primary care
- healthcare
- type diabetes
- prognostic factors
- clinical trial
- randomized controlled trial
- emergency department
- adipose tissue
- metabolic syndrome
- skeletal muscle
- patient reported outcomes
- patient reported