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Adherence to management guidelines for childhood asthma in Australia
Background: Little is known about doctors’ treatment preferences for childhood asthma.
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate adherence to management guidelines for childhood asthma.
Methods: One thousand general practitioners (GPs) and paediatric specialists in Australia were invited to take part in a survey, which collected demographic details and explored their familiarity with and adherence to childhood asthma management guidelines.
Results: Two hundred doctors (20% response rate) responded and were eligible for inclusion in the survey. Approximately half (54.5%) of the respondents were very familiar with at least one of the childhood asthma management guidelines. The majority of respondents (86.8%) followed guideline recommendations when prescribing initial maintenance therapy for childhood asthma, while 89.2% and 68.0% followed guideline recommendations regarding step-up and step-down therapy respectively.
Discussion: Overall familiarity with childhood asthma management guidelines could be improved. There is scope for improvement in the adherence to these guidelines when prescribing medication in childhood asthma, particularly for step-down therapy.
History
Publication title
Australian Family PhysicianVolume
44Issue
12Pagination
933-938ISSN
0300-8495Department/School
School of Pharmacy and PharmacologyPublisher
Royal Australian College of General PractitionersPlace of publication
AustraliaRights statement
Copyright 2015 The Royal Australian College of General practitionersRepository Status
- Restricted