Early and accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective Primary Care Asthma Programs. Work-related asthma (WRA), a significant yet often underdiagnosed condition, can severely impact patient health and quality of life. Identifying WRA within primary care settings is essential for comprehensive asthma management and improved patient outcomes. This study investigates the effectiveness of the Work-Related Asthma Screening Questionnaire (long-version) (WRASQ(L)) as a tool to enhance the detection of WRA in primary care.
This intervention study was conducted across two primary care sites in Ontario. The standard asthma care protocol at these sites included the Asthma Care Map (ACM), which incorporates seven WRA screening questions. To assess the added value of WRASQ(L), participants at each visit completed an electronic version of the 14-item WRASQ(L). Healthcare providers were prompted to document details of any WRA investigations triggered by the questionnaires. The study received ethical approval from the Institutional Review Board.
The participant group comprised 37 individuals, predominantly female (73.0%), with an average age of 46.3 years. Significantly, the implementation of WRASQ(L) led to the identification of additional work-related symptoms in 38% of participants and workplace exposures in 60%, beyond what was captured by the standard ACM. Notably, the study period saw two participants newly identified as suspected cases of WRA directly due to the enhanced screening process.
The findings clearly indicate that WRASQ(L) provides valuable supplementary information for identifying potential WRA cases compared to standard primary care practices. However, the study also highlighted challenges in integrating the electronic WRASQ(L) into routine clinical workflows, which limited the immediate utilization of the questionnaire results by healthcare providers. Despite these implementation hurdles, the WRASQ(L) demonstrates significant potential to improve the recognition of WRA within primary care asthma programs once validated and effectively integrated into practice. Enhanced screening tools like WRASQ(L) are vital for optimizing primary care asthma programs and ensuring comprehensive patient care.
