Abstract
Introduction Family carers and significant others play a fundamental role in the well-being of people with severe asthma. This study aimed to investigate the challenges faced by family carers/significant others of people with severe asthma, to understand if there is an unmet need and to explore coping strategies.
Methods Carers of people with severe asthma were invited to participate in a face-to-face or telephone interview. Semi-structured interviews were conducted until reaching data saturation of themes. The 20 interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysis of data followed an inductive thematic approach.
Results We report three overarching emergent themes:(1) “Caring role impacts”: centred around the negative and positive impacts of caring on carers' well-being; (2) “Unmet needs”: encapsulated the support needs participants desired and were categorised into unmet: informational, biopsychosocial needs, and carers' involvement in decision making; (3) “Coping strategies”: central to the range of tools and positive approaches in dealing with caring demands.
Discussion Caring for someone with severe asthma can be burdensome and may negatively affect the physical and psychosocial health of the carer. Various coping strategies are used to manage the demands of these caring roles. Carers of people with severe asthma expressed a need for information, biopsychosocial, and involvement in care decision making support. Tailored support services that are sensitive to their needs may improve their quality of life and encourage healthcare providers to value and acknowledge the important contribution that carers make.
Footnotes
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Conflict of interest: Mrs. Majellano has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: V.L. Clark reports a fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council during the conduct of the study, and a $1400 grant to cover research-related costs received for providing education to AstraZeneca staff and symposium, outside the submitted work.
Conflict of interest: J. Foster reports an unconditional research grant, and steering committee, independent medical education, speaker fee and travel costs from AstraZeneca; personal fees for independent medical education from Boehringer Ingelheim; and personal fees for independent medical education and a speaker fee from GlaxoSmithKline, all outside the submitted work.
Conflict of interest: P.G. Gibson reports speaker's fees from AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis, and grants from AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, outside the submitted work.
Conflict of interest: Dr. McDonald reports grants from National Health and Medical Research Council, during the conduct of the study; grants from National Health and Medical Research Council, outside the submitted work.
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- Received November 1, 2020.
- Accepted January 12, 2021.
- ©The authors 2021
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