Factors associated with health care professionals' choice of written asthma management plans

The objective of this descriptive-comparative study was to determine what factors were associated with health care professionals' choice of written asthma management plans (WAMP) for health care practice. A convenience sample of medical and nursing students and practicing health care professionals was asked to choose the preferred WAMP and give a brief explanation for the choice on the questionnaire. Comparative groups were formed based on the WAMP choice. Independent sample chi2 and content analysis were used to analyze data. Ninety-five percent (n = 192) of all survey respondents (N = 202) preferred the highly readable Global Initiative for Asthma Sample Patient Asthma Management Plan, as compared to the Veterans Administration/Department of Defense (DoD) WAMP. Major themes as to why respondents preferred the Global Initiative for Asthma WAMP include "pictures," "readability," "user-friendliness," and "simplicity." Use of the current DoD/Veterans Health Administration WAMP within the DoD Military Health System may need to be re-evaluated.