Qualitative research influencing guideline and policy: an exemplar of the development of a national school asthma guideline in Malaysia

Clinical and health guidelines are important documents that support healthcare providers, patients, and organisations by recommending model of care for daily practices. These guidelines are developed based on scientific evidence, but implementation (especially of complex interventions) needs to take local context into consideration.1 Guidelines are typically based on evidence generated in developed countries because the resources needed to produce this evidence are substantial, posing a significant challenge for low- and middle-income countries.
Evidence-based interventions need to be adapted for effective implementation, in particular for low- and middle-income countries. Qualitative studies offer insights about the processes through which programmes are implemented and can supply useful information about stakeholders’ experience that can provide rich detail about policy contexts.2 Our work exemplifies the impact from qualitative exploration in developing a Culturally Tailored school-based intervention for Asthma in Malaysia (CuT-AsthMa). This effort has influenced an initiative to develop and implement a national asthma guideline for schools in Malaysia.