Unmet needs in asthma: Global Asthma Physician and Patient (GAPP) Survey: global adult findings.

BACKGROUND: The Global Asthma Physician and Patient (GAPP) Survey is the first global quantitative survey designed to uncover asthma attitudes and treatment practices among separate groups of physicians and patients, with the goal of identifying barriers to optimal management.

METHOD: A total of 5582 physician and patient interviews were conducted globally online, by telephone and face-to-face. This paper highlights key global findings from the adult arm (3559 interviews) conducted in 16 countries.

RESULTS: Physician and patient responses were found to differ when respondents were asked the same set of questions. Perceptions of time spent on asthma education, the quality of physician-patient communications, awareness and experience of side effects and understanding and knowledge of treatment noncompliance were found to differ between these two sets of respondents.

CONCLUSIONS: The GAPP Survey not only defines an unmet need in asthma treatment, but also reveals that there is a direct relationship between the quality of physician-patient communication, the level of treatment side effects and the extent of patient compliance. These survey findings highlight a clear need for improved patient-focused care in asthma.