Health workers’ perspectives on asthma care coordination between primary and specialised healthcare in the COVID-19 pandemic: a protocol for a qualitative study in Ecuador and Brazil

Abstract

IntroductionAsthma is a common long-term disorder and strategies to improve asthma control are still a challenge. Integrated delivery of health systems is critical for effective asthma care: there is limited information on experiences of care coordination for asthma from Latin America, especially on perspectives of health personnel and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods and analysisThis protocol details a qualitative approach to analyse health workers’ perspectives of healthcare coordination for asthma control during COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador and Brazil, at primary and specialised levels, through in-depth semistructured interviews using a video communications platform. The analysis will identify knowledge and perspectives based on coordination of clinical information, clinical management and administrative coordination. Theoretical sampling will be used to obtain approximately equal numbers of women and men within each level of healthcare; data saturation will be used to determine sample size. Transcripts will be analysed using content-coding procedures to mark quotations related to major topics and subthemes included in the interview guide, and narrative analysis will be based on a theoretical framework for healthcare coordination to identify new themes and subthemes.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was obtained from the ethics committees of Hospital General Docente Calderón, Quito, Ecuador; and Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil. The findings of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed articles, conference presentations and condensed summaries for key stakeholders and partners.

Prospective study of factors associated with asthma attack recurrence (ATTACK) in children from three Ecuadorian cities during COVID-19: a study protocol

“…The objectives of phases I and II are detailed in table 1. Qualitative studies of health worker’s perspectives on asthma care coordination between primary and specialised healthcare are being done also as described elsewhere 41…”

Integrated health care systems for asthma: A qualitative narrative study from the perspective of Ecuadorian health professionals

“…The present study forms part of the Asthma Attacks study [11][12]. It aimed to understand better the causes of recurrence of asthma attacks and optimize strategies to improve asthma control and prevent asthma attacks [11].…”

“…The present study forms part of the Asthma Attacks study [11][12]. It aimed to understand better the causes of recurrence of asthma attacks and optimize strategies to improve asthma control and prevent asthma attacks [11]. The qualitative component sought to analyse the performance of asthma care coordination in Ecuador from the perspectives of health professionals.…”

“…The qualitative component of the " Asthma Attacks Causes and Prevention Study in Latin America (Asthma Attack)" [11,12] was developed in 2019 in collaboration with partners from the United Kingdom (UK), Brazil and Ecuador, and focused on understanding perspectives of health workers on the coordination of asthma care between the primary and specialized levels in Ecuador. Asthma is a chronic condition affecting more than 300 million people worldwide, especially in low and middle-income countries, is a major drain on health resources, requires long-term medications, and is a major cause of hospital admissions due to asthma attacks [13].…”

Mapping the literature on the qualitative approach to childhood asthma from 1996 to 2018: a bibliometric analysis

“…11 Other bibliometric analyses reviewed the 100 most cited articles on asthma, 14 and the role of animal models in asthma research, 15 while another was restricted to the literature from specific countries such as India. 16 Apart from that, in 2019, we presented a narrative analysis protocol on the perception of care coordination in asthma from the perspective of healthcare professionals in Ecuador and Brazil, 17 so we previously set out to analyse the available scientific literature related to qualitative studies in childhood asthma. We selected bibliometric analysis to examine large numbers of publications and their production patterns at different levels.…”