Evaluation of the asthma 3+ visit plan

Project Coordinator

Justin Beilby

Chief Investigators

Justin Beilby, Teresa Burgess, Justin Lokhorst, Nicholas Zwar, Elizabeth Comino, Iqbal Hasan, Gawaine Powell-Davies

Associate Investigators

Other Team Members

Rationale

The Asthma 3+ Visit Plan is a nationally implemented program, which aims to provide a framework for systematic asthma care for people with moderate and severe asthma. The program was funded by the Federal Government in 2001. Figures from Health Insurance Commission show variability in uptake of the initiative. There had been no study done at a national level assessing the current uptake of Asthma 3+ Visit Plan and examining factors associated with uptake and implementation on the care plan. There might be significant barriers to uptake and completion especially for those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and people from disadvantaged communities. This study looked at the uptake of the Asthma 3+ Visit Plan from consumers as well from care providers' perspectives.

Aims

The overall aims of the Evaluation of the Asthma 3+ Visit Plan were to establish the degree of uptake of the Plan within General Practice and to identify barriers and enhancers to uptake for consumers and GPs.

Design and Method

The evaluation contained a number of different elements:

• A Divisional Survey
• A GP Survey
• Analysis of Medicare data
• Consumer interviews and CALD focus groups discussion
• An evaluation of the uptake of the Plan by ATSI
• GP focus groups

Data from all these elements were triangulated to develop a picture of the current uptake of the Asthma 3+ Visit Plan and to determine a way forward for systematic asthma management in general practice

Key Publications

Justin Beilby, Teresa Burgess, Justin Lokhorst, Nicholas Zwar, Iqbal Hasan, Gawaine Powell-Davies, Evlauation of the Asthma 3+ Visit Plan. Final Report. December 2004