Abstract
Introduction/Aim. A plethora of clinical guidelines exist providing recommendations on best practice care across specific disease areas. The aim of this study was to explore opinions of health professionals on the joint Lung Foundation Australia/ Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand publication, The COPD‐X Plan: Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for the Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Areas of interest included familiarity with COPD‐X, uptake, barriers to use, application in clinical practice and use in quality improvement initiatives.
Methods. A survey was conducted amongst registered users of the COPD‐X Guidelines from September to November 2019.
Results. There were 296 survey responses primarily from Australia. Nurses were the largest user group (43%), followed by allied health (27%), GPs (15%) and respiratory specialists (9%). 62% of respondents saw COPD patients on a daily basis. 38% of respondents were familiar with COPD‐X, with only 16% very familiar. 20% of respondents identified barriers to use including difficult format, preference for another guideline and lack of interest or time, especially in primary care. With regards to impact and relevance, 91% of respondents said COPD‐X was applicable to health professionals other than respiratory specialists and was relevant to clinical practice. 89% said COPD‐X improved their knowledge and understanding of COPD management; 85% said COPD‐X supported the delivery of patient‐centred care; 85% said it was relevant across hospital, primary and community care settings and 81% said it was applicable to geographically diverse healthcare settings.
Conclusion. Survey responses indicated positive opinions from the user group relating to the impact and relevance of COPD‐X on the management of patients with COPD. However, there were varied opinions on the optimal format of a clinical guideline. Further work will be undertaken to compile a report of recommendations to improve the usability and uptake of COPD‐X in clinical practice. It is suggested that additional effort needs to go into the promotion of COPD‐X and engagement with health professionals outside the registered COPD‐X user group.
Methods. A survey was conducted amongst registered users of the COPD‐X Guidelines from September to November 2019.
Results. There were 296 survey responses primarily from Australia. Nurses were the largest user group (43%), followed by allied health (27%), GPs (15%) and respiratory specialists (9%). 62% of respondents saw COPD patients on a daily basis. 38% of respondents were familiar with COPD‐X, with only 16% very familiar. 20% of respondents identified barriers to use including difficult format, preference for another guideline and lack of interest or time, especially in primary care. With regards to impact and relevance, 91% of respondents said COPD‐X was applicable to health professionals other than respiratory specialists and was relevant to clinical practice. 89% said COPD‐X improved their knowledge and understanding of COPD management; 85% said COPD‐X supported the delivery of patient‐centred care; 85% said it was relevant across hospital, primary and community care settings and 81% said it was applicable to geographically diverse healthcare settings.
Conclusion. Survey responses indicated positive opinions from the user group relating to the impact and relevance of COPD‐X on the management of patients with COPD. However, there were varied opinions on the optimal format of a clinical guideline. Further work will be undertaken to compile a report of recommendations to improve the usability and uptake of COPD‐X in clinical practice. It is suggested that additional effort needs to go into the promotion of COPD‐X and engagement with health professionals outside the registered COPD‐X user group.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | TPL 004 |
| Pages (from-to) | 139 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Respirology |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | S1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2020 |