PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Gareth Walters AU - Andrew Soundy AU - Sherwood Burge AU - Jon Ayres TI - A qualitative approach to understanding health-seeking behaviour in workers with occupational asthma symptoms DP - 2014 Sep 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - P4543 VI - 44 IP - Suppl 58 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P4543.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P4543.full SO - Eur Respir J2014 Sep 01; 44 AB - Long delays from symptom onset to the diagnosis of occupational asthma have been reported in the UK and elsewhere, and workers are often reluctant to seek medical help or workplace solutions for their symptoms. Reducing diagnostic delay could result in avoidance of some of the societal costs of occupational asthma. We used a qualitative methodology to explore the health beliefs of workers with occupational asthma symptoms and identify barriers to diagnosis. 20 workers with occupational asthma (median age=52; 70% male; 80%White British) were identified through purposive sampling of referrals to a specialist unit, and undertook semi-structured interviews with the primary author. Four themes were identified through thematic analysis of transcribed data: (1) workers' understanding of symptoms, (2) working relationships, (3) workers' course of action, and (4) workers' negotiation with healthcare professionals. Understanding varied between individuals, from a lack of insight into the onset, pattern and nature of symptoms, through to misunderstanding of what they represented, or ignorance of the existence of asthma as a disease entity. Workers described reluctance to discuss health issues with managers and peers, through fear of job loss and a perceived lack of ability to find a solution. The evolution of workers' understanding depended upon how actively they looked to define symptoms or seek a solution. Proactive workers were motivated to seek authoritative help and negotiate inadequate healthcare encounters with GPs. Understanding workers' motivation and beliefs will enable us to develop better health and workplace interventions for identifying occupational asthma.