title: Factors associated with health care professionals' choice of written asthma management plans.
abstract: The objective of this descriptive-comparative study was to determine what factors were associated with health care professionals' choice of written asthma management plans (WAMP) for health care practice. A convenience sample of medical and nursing students and practicing health care professionals was asked to choose the preferred WAMP and give a brief explanation for the choice on the questionnaire. Comparative groups were formed based on the WAMP choice. Independent sample chi2 and content analysis were used to analyze data. Ninety-five percent (n = 192) of all survey respondents (N = 202) preferred the highly readable Global Initiative for Asthma Sample Patient Asthma Management Plan, as compared to the Veterans Administration/Department of Defense (DoD) WAMP. Major themes as to why respondents preferred the Global Initiative for Asthma WAMP include "pictures," "readability," "user-friendliness," and "simplicity." Use of the current DoD/Veterans Health Administration WAMP within the DoD Military Health System may need to be re-evaluated.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Nursing, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Bibb
authors.forename: Ricky
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Norwood
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Meyer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000628:therapy; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires