Grant: Patient-Oriented Research Collaboration Grants

The aim of this research is to improve the care and health experience of patients who experience an asthma attack and require Emergency Department (ED) care. Often patients' experience of the asthma attack is not explored. This research addresses this gap by studying the experience of adult patients (age 17-55 years) presenting to the ED with an asthma attack, including what triggered the attack, the feeling of the asthma attack itself, why they came to the ED, how they were cared for in the ED, and their follow-up. We will study people's experiences by using a visual method called "photovoice," in which participants will be asked to take photographs of their "asthma attack experience," complete an approximately 60-minute one-on-one interview to discuss their photographs and how they depicted their asthma attack experience, and finally, communicate their experience to ED staff members and to members of the public through a photograph exhibit. The main discussion points of the interviews will also be analyzed to try to identify which factors impacted on whether the ED care experience was a positive one or a negative one. We believe that the photo exhibit and the subsequent activities that we will undertake to share the results of this study with the medical community will improve ED staff and ED administrators' understanding of patient experiences and the challenges that patients encounter when receiving ED care during an asthma attack. Ultimately, this study aims to improve the relationships and understanding that exist between patients and their care providers, and thus to improve the care that we offer our patients in the ED.