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The following is a summary of “Are acute asthma presentations to the emergency department an opportunity for optimizing long-term management? A qualitative study on beliefs and behaviors of healthcare professionals,” published in the April 2025 issue of Emergency Medicine Journal by Skene et al. 

Acute asthma presentations to emergency departments (ED) had been identified as opportunities to improve long-term asthma management through inhaled corticosteroid provision, but this required behavioral changes from healthcare professionals (HCPs) that were often seen as unacceptable or unfeasible.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to explore the health beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of HCPs involved in the care of adults presenting to the ED with asthma.  

They sampled UK HCPs based on profession, years of experience, and clinical setting and invited them to take part in semi-structured interviews conducted either face-to-face or online. Interviews were held between November 2021 and June 2022. Eligible participants included those with experience managing asthma in ED or primary care and the data were interpreted by reflective thematic analysis.  

The results showed that 19 HCPs were interviewed, and 4 key themes emerged reflecting their beliefs and behaviors: (1) Compassionate understanding (recognizing ED accessibility, patient self-management, and emotional factors), (2) Doing what is right for the patient (using a reachable moment), (3) Tensions of capacity in the system (acknowledging ED workload), and (4) ED as providers of preventative care.  

Investigators concluded that HCPs acknowledged the ED’s accessibility for patients seeking help and the potential for improved asthma management, although they faced certain obstacles, and ED staff might adopt changes for better patient care if provided with guidelines and training. 

Source: emj.bmj.com/content/early/2025/04/16/emermed-2024-214407