Understanding what asthma plans mean: a linguistic analysis of terminology used in published texts.
Ring N., Pinnock H., Wilson C., Hoskins G., Jepson R., Wyke S., Sheikh A.
AimTo identify from the literature what terms are used for 'asthma plans', with what meaning, and in what context(s).MethodsLinguistic analysis of a selected body of asthma literature from 1989-2009.ResultsA wide range of asthma plan terminology was evident, with terms such as 'action plans', 'self-management plans' and 'treatment plans' being applied inconsistently and synonymously. For individual patients the term 'asthma plan' can describe a clinically-determined list of prescribed medication, an agreed plan to guide self-management of changing symptoms, or a more holistic 'living with asthma' plan. In some contexts the term 'asthma plan' was also used to describe an organisational system of care, which causes further ambiguity.ConclusionsWithin the literature, a plethora of terms is used inconsistently and with varied meaning. This is a potential, but previously unrecognised, barrier to asthma plan implementation. A taxonomy of asthma plans and a standardised definitions of terms is required.