PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - S M S Smith
AU  - C Mitchell
AU  - S D Bowler
AU  - C Heneghan
AU  - R Perera
TI  - The health behaviour and clinical characteristics of ambulance users with acute asthma
AID  - 10.1136/emj.2008.059188
DP  - 2009 Mar 01
TA  - Emergency Medicine Journal
PG  - 187--192
VI  - 26
IP  - 3
4099  - http://emj.bmj.com/content/26/3/187.short
4100  - http://emj.bmj.com/content/26/3/187.full
SO  - Emerg Med J2009 Mar 01; 26
AB  - Objective: This study sought to determine if ambulance service users differ in their health behaviours to “walk-in” patients attending an emergency department (ED) with acute asthma.Method: Retrospective cross-sectional study of people with acute asthma stratified by ambulance use attending two ED. The health-promoting lifestyle profile and health risk appraisal tools assessed health and risk-taking behaviours, and the clinical variables assessed include: forced expiratory volume in 1 s, admission rates, severity, asthma medications, anxiety and depression.Results: Of the 142 patients, 26% used the ambulance service as transport to the ED. Ambulance users were significantly older than walk-in patients (40 vs 32 years, p⩽0.05) and were less likely to return to follow-up appointments (odds ratio (OR) 2.93, 95% CI 1.16 to 7.37). Walk-in patients were more likely to report higher levels of education (OR 4.36, 95% CI 1.11 to 17.09). There was no difference between the groups for health-promoting behaviours. In reducing risks to their health and after adjusting for age and gender, there was a trend towards ambulance users undertaking preventive health measures more often than walk-in patients.Conclusions: Ambulance users with acute asthma are more likely to be older, married and less educated. There is no evidence that this group is less responsible in managing their health; however, fewer ambulance users attended their follow-up appointment and the implication for ongoing care requires further investigation.