People with severe asthma and poor control will often downplay their symptoms and not discuss relevant, including non-medical, issues with their clinician (Moffat et al. 2006). Poor communication can contribute to an underestimation of disease severity and limit disease control (Moffat et al. 2006).
“You don’t see as much people, your social life becomes the hospital….because you spend so much time there….that becomes your social circle”
Video provided by Prof. Lorraine Smith and Ms. Daniela Eassey, University of Sydney
People with severe asthma report difficulties communicating with their healthcare providers. They report that experiences and feelings are not heard and healthcare providers are at times authoritarian rather than collaborative in their approach to care. People with severe asthma also report that apart from their respiratory specialist, most other healthcare providers have a poor knowledge and understanding of the aetiology, treatment options and personal experiences of severe asthma.
