Barriers to and Facilitators of Asthma Care For Malaysian Hajj Pilgrims: A Qualitative Study

RESPIRE collaborators, Rizawati Ramli, Nik Sherina Hanafi, Norita Hussein, Ping Yein Lee, Sazlina Shariff Ghazali, Ai Theng Cheong, Ahmad Ihsan Abu Bakar, Suhazeli Abdullah, Azah Abdul Samad, Hilary Pinnock, Aziz Sheikh, Ee Ming Khoo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Asthma exacerbations are among the commonest reasons for hospitalizations in Malaysian pilgrims during the Hajj. We interviewed 21 stakeholders involved in the pre-Hajj health examination at 14 primary care clinics, to explore their perceptions on barriers to and facilitators of asthma care for Hajj pilgrims. The disadvantages of the short time frame and centralized organization of the pre-Hajj health examinations were viewed as compromising clinicians' level of competencies in asthma care, which could potentially be enhanced through more training, audit, and supervision by specialists. Longer time frame to permit sufficient disease control, provision of care by a dedicated asthma team, asthma registry to support continuous care, more resources of long-acting β-agonist/inhaled corticosteroid, and provision of influenza and pneumococcal vaccines at no cost were the perceived facilitators. Delivery of asthma education, especially the asthma action plan, should be tailored to the level of the pilgrim's health literacy and facilitated by educational resources, family engagement, and regular health briefing.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)179-182
JournalAsia-Pacific Journal of Public Health
Volume35
Issue number2-3
Early online date28 Feb 2023
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 28 Feb 2023

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Hajj
  • asthma
  • asthma care
  • primary care

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