Abstract

Background: Healthcare staff have a key role in counselling patients. This study describes asthma patients’ evaluations of primary care counselling quality.

Methods: The research applied a cross-sectional study design, with data collected from adult asthma patients (n = 73). Data were analysed by descriptive statistics.

Results: Most of participating patients were women (73%) and over 60 years old (67%). The patients were generally satisfied with the counselling. Subjection to an asthma test (p = 0.009) and smoking (p = 0.019) were found to significantly positively affect patient perceptions of counselling quality. The patients also felt that support services should be covered more (74%). Patients with comprehensive education (p = 0.039) and smokers (p = 0.015) were more likely to be satisfied with the counselling than other patients. Counselling was client-oriented (53%) and most patients reported experiencing positive interactions (92%). Most patients agreed that counselling benefitted adherence to self-care (75%) and health promotion (67%). Moreover, almost all of the patients were satisfied with the staff members’ knowledge and skills (97%). Subjection to an asthma test (p = 0.043), age (p = 0.030), smoking (p = 0.014), and duration of illness (p = 0.002) influenced satisfaction with counselling resources.

Conclusion: The results indicate that counselling benefits asthma patients. Performing an asthma test, as well as considering smoking habits and educational level, can improve patient perceptions of counselling.