How you shape our work

Adam from our Policy team looks at the results of a survey we carried out on how you make decisions about your care. He explains how your involvement has shaped both our work, and guidance that has been developed for healthcare professionals. 

Here at Asthma UK, we want to make sure that everything we do is driven by the needs of people with asthma. We do this by gathering insights to find out what’s most important to you to shape our work and to influence the work of others, like the NHS or the government. 

A recent example of this was when we asked you for your thoughts on a piece of work by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). We launched a survey to find out how you make decisions about managing your asthma. Over 570 of you took part in our survey. The survey revealed what information and help you most value when making decisions about your care.  

Our survey findings 

Our survey found that the majority of you find it important to be involved in making decisions about your care. You told us that you are motivated to make decisions about your care and have the skills and knowledge to do this.  

However, disappointingly, many of you don’t feel like you have the opportunity to do so. Some of you also told us that you don’t feel confident about discussing care preferences with your healthcare professional. Everyone with asthma should feel that they have an opportunity to be listened to by their healthcare professional and involved in making decisions about their care if they wish to be. 

The survey also revealed what would help you and other people with asthma to live better with your condition. More opportunities for a discussion with a healthcare professional was the most popular response amongst older audiences. 

A device or app that helps you to monitor your asthma was a common answer among younger survey respondents. We are working closely with NHS England on a programme to help people manage their asthma better through using technology like apps, with support from a healthcare professional. 

How we used this information 

We shared our survey findings with NICE, who aim to improve outcomes for patients using NHS services. 

NICE developed guidance on how healthcare professionals should involve patients in making decisions about their care. By taking part in our survey, your insight has helped shape this guidance and support healthcare professionals to improve the care they give to people with asthma.

For example, many of you told us that you find information from charities helpful when making decisions about your care. NICE have taken this feedback on board.

They are recommending that healthcare professionals use relevant information from charities when providing advice to patients. 

Get involved in more of our work 

We know that you’re the experts in what it’s like to live with or care for someone with asthma, and it’s this invaluable insight that we use to shape our work. It also informs which research we will advocate for, so that there will be better products and treatments that work for people with asthma. 

Stay up to date with our latest activities by following The Asthma UK Blog, and keep your eyes peeled for our newsletters where you can find out how you can have your say in our work. 

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