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Asthma Australia led the Program Design for the QUM in CAD Program, on behalf of the Lung Learning Partnership. You can read the Program Design Report synopsis or full document here, but below are the highlights that have really shaped our thinking as we design person-centred interventions.
Asthma Australia’s mission is to drive person-centred approaches, and the person with asthma is at the centre of what we do. With this work on the Program Design, understanding the lived experience need was an important first step. Weaving solutions to the identified needs with delivery of our Program Outcomes has required a collaborative approach. The process began with input from diverse perspectives on asthma, including people with asthma, their carers, healthcare professionals, clinical experts and stakeholder organisations. This input was then used to guide a strategic process to prioritise, define and design the next steps.
With the Program Design now complete, the detailing of the Education Packages in the Solution Blueprints will set out how the Program Outcomes will be achieved, supporting the quality use of medicines in chronic airways disease.
Asthma through my eyes: perspectives of children with asthma and their carers
Whilst much is understood about the clinical triggers that lead to flare-ups, symptom burden and hospitalisation, little research has been previously conducted into the young patient perspective and experiences that inform their self-management behaviours. Asthma Australia commissioned research to understand these underlying beliefs, attitudes and assumptions from the perspective of the child and their carers.1
Interviews were conducted with 13 child-parent dyads and 6 teens online and in-person. Based on their stories and behaviours, participants were categorised by levels of control, and their attitudes, beliefs and behaviours were compared to create the model and validate our assumptive journey maps.
Living with asthma is a journey that involves multiple touchpoints that determine how to manage a person’s asthma. People who live well with asthma seem to take a whole of life approach. People who are at risk, seem to manage it in the moment and do minimal preventative management. Touch points identified in the journey map indicate opportunities to better influence outcomes within the healthcare sector.
Asthma insights from the Design Thinking Workshop
The Design Thinking Workshop was the major activity of the Program Design process for our QUM in CAD Program, with the broad scope of identifying solutions to quality use of medicines challenges for people with chronic airways disease. Some of our participants were tasked with focusing their thinking specifically around asthma in adults and children.
After hearing narratives of lived experiences, the participants spent time on activities to define the challenges for these people with empathy mapping and development of point of view (POV) statements to frame the insights learned.
Following the workshop, we conducted a thematic analysis on the POV statements generated by the participants to consolidate and generate single statements for each narrative. In the figure below it’s clear to see that both narratives highlighted feelings of overwhelm, poor asthma control and a need for greater support from their healthcare professionals.
Stakeholder and expert opinion on QUM issues relating to asthma management
Multiple stakeholder organisations, clinical experts and consumers have been engaged to inform the development of the QUM in CAD Program and its priorities as they relate to QUM, as well as the target audiences it seeks to influence.
The Lung Learning Partnership convened an Expert Advisory Group (EAG) and Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG) and posed the question: What are the quality use of diagnostics, therapeutics and pathology issues relating to chronic airways disease? In the table below their responses have been categorised along atient journey which aligns with the Lung Learning Framework.
This expert opinion allows us to inform the content priorities for the relevant Education Package within the Solution Blueprints.
How might we design Education Packages to inform and equip healthcare professionals with the knowledge, attitude and skills in order to deliver patient-centred care and empowerment?
At the Design Thinking Workshop, participants engaged in activities that refined the challenge, prompted brainstorming and generated prototypes. The workshop concluded with eight pitches, which were presented and subject to peer review. Each group had been asked to focus on a particular patient segment, and in every idea we could clearly see reflected the foundation of the lived experience narratives we had started the workshop with.
The pitched ideas included a podcast series that connects guidelines with patient experience, a certification program plus community of practice, checklists for healthcare professionals to create integrated care plans, a model to organise diagnosis and intervention planning and resources for HCPs to support better lung health in First Nations peoples. Each of the pitched education concepts aimed to empower HCPs with the knowledge, skills and resources needed to deliver high-quality, patient-centred care. Elements of each pitch will be used in program implementation, and themes identified have formed principles to guide the Education Package design.
Publication date: May 2024
Author: Cathryn Berry, Asthma Australia
References:
- Zeederberg S, Zeederberg M, Bell R, Flynn A. Asthma through my eyes: a child and carer view of managing asthma. 2024, TSANZ Abstracts. Respirology, 29: 133.