Primary health care centres with asthma clinics: effects on patients knowledge and asthma control

To evaluate outcomes for patients attending primary care centres with and without asthma clinics.

A cross-sectional survey at 42 primary health care centres randomly selected according to organisation of asthma care, 14 with complete, 14 with incomplete and 14 with no asthma clinic according to national criteria. 1,477 randomly selected patients 15-45 years received two questionnaires. Outcomes were: patients' knowledge of asthma; asthma control; and quality of life.

Patients attending primary health care centres with asthma clinics reported more knowledge of asthma but similar levels of asthma control and quality of life. Patients who reported they had visited the asthma nurse during the last year had more knowledge but similar asthma control and quality of life compared to patients who reported they had not. However, with more time allocated for the nurse, 44% achieved asthma control compared with 27% at asthma clinics with less time (p<0.003).

Having an asthma clinic at a primary health care centre improves asthma patients' knowledge of the disease, and better asthma control is achieved if the nurse is allocated more time.