Asthma and COPD patients’ perceived link between health literacy core domains and self-management of their condition

Health literacy (HL) is a person’s ability to practically apply a wide range of cognitive and non-cognitive skills, to make health-related decisions. This study, that involved Can-Change Chair Dr. Kim Lavoie, endeavored to develop a comprehensive, function-based tool that adequately and accurately measures HL skills of this patient population. Involvement of patients from initial stage allowed us to develop a tool that will serve as a first ever developed HL tool for asthma and COPD patient group.

Guided asthma self-management or patient self-adjustment? Using patients’ narratives to better understand adherence to asthma treatment

This study, co-led by Can-Change members Dr. Kim Lavoie and Dr. Simon Bacon, aimed to better understand patients’ perspective of asthma self-management by focusing on the sociocultural and medical context shaping patients’ illness representations and individual decisions. Data suggest that while physicians contribute to shaping patients’ beliefs and perceptions about the disease and treatment goals, patients tend to listen to their own experience and manage the disease accordingly

How to develop and test behavioural interventions and the potential impact of changing behaviours in patients with asthma

Presentation reviewing the most recent advances in how to develop and test behavioural interventions, with an emphasis on new frameworks which have been proposed. These are then discussed in terms of two research streams in adult patients with asthma which have used these frameworks. The first stream has culminated in a behavioural randomized controlled trial assessing a structure exercise intervention (66 patients randomised to exercise or usual care). The second stream describes the development and impact of a behavioural weight management intervention (20 patients all undergoing a version of the intervention).

Enablers of Physician Prescription of a Long-Term Asthma Controller in Patients with Persistent Asthma

This study aimed to identify key enablers of physician prescription of a long-term controller in patients with persistent asthma. We concluded that tools and training to improve physician knowledge, skills, and perception towards long-term ICS and resources that increase patient adherence and physician comfort to facilitate long-term ICS prescription should be considered as targets for implementation. Can-Change members Dr Kim Lavoie and Dr. Simon Bacon contributed to this article.