‘It’s a powerful message’: a qualitative study of Australian healthcare professionals’ perceptions of asthma through the medium of drawings

Abstract

ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore healthcare professionals’ (HCPs’) perspectives of asthma through their drawings, and their responses when viewing patients’ drawings of their experiences of asthma.DesignA qualitative exploratory study with a purposive, convenience sample of participants. Participants were asked to first express their perspectives of asthma in a drawing, which was followed by a review of drawings made by patients with asthma.SettingPrimary and tertiary HCPs from Sydney, Australia.ParticipantsTwenty-three HCPs from a range of health professions.ResultsThe HCPs illustrated their perspective of asthma through drawings which were largely biomedically framed, depicting physiological and clinical aspects of asthma. In contrast, their discussion around the patients’ drawings centred on the person more than the condition. The patients’ drawings triggered the HCPs to revisit their personal expectations of their patients’ illness experience; prompted differing degrees of acknowledgement and empathy regarding the patient experience; and encouraged clinical reflexivity.ConclusionsOur findings provide support for the educational application of patients’ drawings in bringing HCPs closer to the patient lived experience. The drawings fostered deeper insight into patient perspectives of asthma and stimulated critical reflection on current healthcare practices.

A systematic review and thematic synthesis to identify factors that influence pharmacists' involvement in asthma care services: An identity crisis

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“…Education in mild asthma patients is urgently needed to increase understanding of the potential for severe exacerbations even in mild asthma,18 19 and the ability of ICS-containing treatment to reduce these risks even if symptoms are periodic and/or appear mild and inconsequential 20 21. Patient-centred education can be provided not only by general practitioners and nurses, but also by pharmacists22; it should come not only from an academic medical/pharmacologic perspective, but also from an understanding of patients’ lived experience of asthma 23…”

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“…29. Melissa Mei Yin Cheung, Bandana Saini, and Lorraine Smith (2019), “'It’s a Powerful Message’: A Qualitative Study of Australian Healthcare Professionals’ Perceptions of Asthma through the Medium of Drawings,” BMJ Open 9: e027699.…”

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