Descriptive data—intervention study
| Intervention cohorts | North metropolitan (intervention cohort) n=187 | South metropolitan (control) n=149 | Cohort comparisons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time of simulated patient assessment (preintervention or postintervention) | Pre, count (%) | Post, count (%) | p Value comparing pre to post of intervention cohort | Pre, count (%) | Post, count (%) | p Value comparing pre to post of control cohort | p Value comparing differences in time between cohorts |
| Counsellor demographics | |||||||
| Position of first counsellor* | |||||||
| Pharmacist | 55 (29.4) | 55 (29.4) | NS | 33 (22.2) | 44 (29.5) | NS | NS |
| Pharmacy assistant | 31 (16.6) | 38 (20.3) | NS | 37 (24.8) | 29 (19.5) | NS | NS |
| Other | 10 (5.3) | 7 (3.7) | NS | 17 (11.4) | 9 (6.0) | NS | NS |
| Unsure | 91 (48.7) | 87 (46.5) | NS | 62 (41.6) | 67 (45.0) | NS | NS |
| Change in counsellor (when first consultant was a pharmacy assistant at both time points)* | |||||||
| No change | 5 (83.3) | 4 (66.7) | NS | 8 (66.7) | 7 (58.3) | NS | NS |
| Assistant to pharmacist | 0 (0.0) | 1 (16.7) | NS | 3 (25.0) | 1 (8.3) | NS | NS |
| Pharmacist consulted | 1 (16.7) | 1 (16.7) | NS | 1 (8.3) | 4 (33.3) | NS | NS |
| Consultation details | |||||||
| Waiting time (busyness measure)† | |||||||
| None | 155 (82.9) | 170 (90.9) | 0.0236 | 124 (83.2) | 135 (90.6) | 0.0428 | NS |
| 1–5 min | 31 (16.6) | 16 (8.6) | NS | 25 (16.8) | 13 (8.7) | NS | |
| Over 5 min | 1 (0.5) | 1 (0.5) | NS | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.7) | NS | |
| Patient assessment | |||||||
| Questions (frequently asked) | |||||||
| Is this product for you? | 125 (66.8) | 124 (66.3) | NS | 124 (83.2) | 111 (74.5) | NS | NS |
| Have you used this product before? | 77 (40.1) | 58 (31.0) | NS | 67 (45.0) | 50 (33.6) | 0.0467 | NS |
| How often are you using your reliever? | 60 (32.1) | 71 (38.0) | NS | 63 (42.3) | 54 (36.2) | NS | NS |
| Have you had a review by a doctor? | 48 (25.7) | 45 (24.1) | NS | 43 (28.9) | 27 (18.2) | NS | NS |
| Are you using a preventer? | 24 (12.8) | 92 (49.2) | <0.0001 | 32 (21.5) | 88 (59.1) | <0.0001 | NS |
| Inhaler technique questions asked | |||||||
| When did you last have your device technique checked? | 1 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | Not performed | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | Not performed | Not performed |
| Can you show me your technique? | 1 (0.5) | 2 (1.1) | Not performed | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | Not performed | |
| Demonstration of technique | |||||||
| Device technique demonstrated (NB: Demonstrated technique in all instances was incorrect) | 2 (1.1) | 1 (0.5) | Not performed | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | Not performed | |
| Medication counselling information provided | |||||||
| Information given (most frequently) | |||||||
| Information given on dosage | 20 (10.7) | 25 (13.3) | NS | 19 (12.8) | 15 (10.1) | NS | NS |
| Information given on duration/frequency of use | 13 (7.0) | 34 (18.1) | 0.0013 | 25 (16.8) | 26 (17.4) | NS | 0.0201 |
| Discussions about medical referral | |||||||
| Referral to a healthcare professional | 59 (31.6) | 0.0007 | 75 (50.3) | 65 (43.6) | NS | 0.0019 | |
| Immediate referral recommended (when referred) | 5 (8.5) | NS | 6 (8.0) | 8 (12.3) | NS | NS | |
| Reason for referral given (when referred)* | |||||||
| Uncontrolled asthma | 17 (28.8) | 21 (24.1) | NS | 15 (20.0) | 14 (21.5) | NS | NS |
| Overuse of reliever medication | 26 (44.1) | 37 (42.5) | NS | 30 (40.0) | 22 (33.9) | NS | NS |
| No medical assessment <6 months | 4 (6.8) | 6 (6.9) | NS | 4 (5.3) | 8 (12.3) | NS | NS |
| Lack of written asthma action plan | 0 (0.0) | 2 (2.3) | NS | 2 (2.7) | 3 (4.6) | NS | NS |
| Resources used in patient interactions | |||||||
| Use of Asthma Medication Request Checklist introduced as part of intervention | |||||||
| Patient asked to fill in the checklist | NA | 2 (1.1) | Not performed | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | Not performed | Not performed |
| Explanation of checklist purpose was offered | NA | 2 (1.1) | Not performed | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | Not performed | |
‘Counsellor’ refers to the pharmacy staff member interacting with the patient.
*Each analysis with this variable was performed as the individual category versus the rest.
†This analysis was performed as: no waiting time versus waiting time due to limited numbers in the ‘over 5 min’ category.
NS, not significant; pre, preintervention; post, postintervention.