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Susan Sawyer

Publications and source records attributed to Susan Sawyer.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

R U OK 2 TXT 4 RESEARCH?--feasibility of text message communication in primary care research.

BACKGROUND: Young people have led the recent rise in prevalence of text message usage, which is increasingly used in clinical settings. OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility and acceptability of text message communication as a research tool in clinical research. METHODS: One hundred and ten consecutive young patients aged 16-24 years were recruited in four general practices (one inner urban, one outer urban, one rural and one university practice) in Victoria and interviewed before the consultation. If the patients had a mobile phone, they were asked to provide their mobile phone number so that following the medical consultation they could receive a single question, via text message, about their satisfaction with the consultation. RESULTS: Ninety-one percent of patients participated: 87 of 96 (91%) had a mobile phone and 85 of 87 agreed to provide their phone number for the purpose of research. There was no influence of practice sociodemographic characteristics. DISCUSSION: Text messaging is a feasible and acceptable method of communication for research purposes with young people attending primary care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

A qualitative study of action plans for asthma.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the perspectives of patients with asthma on the use of an action plan and the implementation of this plan during an asthma attack that culminated in a visit to an emergency department. DESIGN: Qualitative study. SETTING: Tertiary teaching hospital, suburban hospital, and rural hospital. PARTICIPANTS: 62 patients aged 18 to 69 years who presented to an emergency department with asthma over a two month period. RESULTS: 29 participants described having action plans given to them by their doctors. Most patients with action plans reinterpreted their plan from the perspective of their own experiences with asthma. 33 patients did not have an action plan, the most common reason being that they had not been given one by their doctor. Some occupational groups were significantly less likely to have been given an action plan by their doctor than others. Most patients with an action plan found them useful for management of their asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Action plans were viewed positively by patients. Participants modified their prescribed plan according to their experience of asthma. To facilitate the implementation of a prescribed action plan, doctors need to acknowledge and include the patient's personal experience of their disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

What determines knowledge of asthma among young people and their families?

In this analysis, we sought to determine factors that predicted the level of asthma knowledge in a sample of adolescents with asthma and their parents. Eighty-five young people aged 10-24 years attending tertiary care asthma clinics and 46 of their parents answered validated respiratory and asthma knowledge questionnaires. Older adolescents were more knowledgeable about asthma than were younger adolescents (r=0.36, p=0.001). Young people with severe asthma (p=0.015) scored higher on the asthma knowledge questionnaire than those with mild/moderate asthma. Asthma knowledge among young people was related to that of their mothers (r=0.47, p=0.014), however, only age and the asthma knowledge of fathers significantly predicted adolescent asthma knowledge. Adolescents develop increasing autonomy for asthma self-management as they mature, but parents remain an important source of information about asthma for young people.

Adolescent↗