Understanding Patients’ Motivations for Seeking Care for Asthma Attacks
Knowing when and where to get care can help you respond to an asthma attack.
At a Glance: Acute Care for Asthma
- The Cause: Asthma is a long-term lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. It happens when the airways in your lungs get inflamed and tight. This can be caused by allergies, dust, smoke, exercise, or even cold air.
- The Impact: Many people in the study had asthma that was not well controlled, even though they took medicine every day. Some had to go to urgent care, the emergency room, or even stay in the hospital because their asthma attacks were so bad.
- The Treatment: Most people with asthma use a daily controller medicine to help keep their asthma under control. When they have an asthma attack, they use a quick-relief inhaler to help them breathe easier. Some people also have a written Asthma Action Plan to help them know what to do if their symptoms get worse.
- The Action: Individuals with asthma should follow their healthcare provider’s advice and take asthma medicine every day. When asthma is uncontrolled, symptoms can be very bad. Individuals seek help at home, in the urgent care or emergency room, or at the hospital. An Asthma Action Plan outlines the steps to take when asthma symptoms worsen and when to seek help.
Understanding Acute Care for Asthma
When asthma symptoms get worse quickly, it is called an asthma attack or flare. Many people seek “acute care,” which includes the Emergency Department (ED), Urgent Care (UC), or hospital admission. While these visits are sometimes necessary, they often signal that a patient’s daily asthma management plan isn’t working as well as it should.
What did the healthcare-seeking study find?
This study found that most adults in the United States who needed urgent or emergency care for an asthma attack had moderately severe, uncontrolled asthma, even though almost all took daily medicine. When people had an asthma attack, most first tried using their rescue inhaler at home, but if their symptoms were very bad or they needed quick help or medicine, they went to urgent care, the emergency room, or the hospital. The study also found that less than half of the participants had a written Asthma Action Plan, and even fewer used it during an attack.
Key findings included:
- In the last 12 months, participants received an average of 4.2 prescriptions for an Oral Corticosteroid (OCS) and were treated with a corticosteroid intravenously or intramuscularly an average of 2.7 times; 12% reported receiving an intravenous or intramuscular corticosteroid 6 or more times. Most saw a primary care physician for their asthma.
- Uncontrolled Disease: Most participants with severe asthma had daily uncontrolled disease. Half of the participants had an asthma attack once a month over the last 2 years.
- First Treatment: About one-third of participants used their reliever medication at home for their asthma attacks FIRST. The rest of the participants went to urgent care, the emergency room, or the hospital for their asthma treatment.
- Why the urgent or emergency room asthma care?: The more severe the asthma symptoms, like extreme shortness of breath, the more likely a patient is to choose Urgent Care or the Emergency Department.
- Most were discharged home: Most of the participants who sought care in the UC or ER were sent home.
What should patients and caregivers know?
The study shows people with asthma treat their symptoms with reliever medicines at home before seeking care in the urgent care, emergency room or hospital. Individuals with an Asthma Action Plan feel confident using one. These individuals follow the AAP steps when experiencing asthma symptoms. When asthma symptoms do not respond to reliever medicine or the steps of the AAP, individuals should seek care at the healthcare providers office, urgent care or emergency room.
Oral Corticosteroids (OCS) for Asthma
Asthma is caused by inflammation. OCS work to reduce airway inflammation and calm symptoms. This is why they are often used for acute asthma symptoms, asthma attacks, or when symptoms are uncontrolled.
The medication is considered very effective at stopping symptom flare-ups. It can reduce emergency department visits and hospitalizations for asthma. But if you find you frequently need OCS for asthma, this is a sign of poor asthma control. Review your asthma medication treatment plan plan with your doctor or see an asthma specialist for more comprehensive care.
OCS treatment is not without health risks. Short-term and long-term OCS use come with the potential for serious side effects.
Insights on Emergency Department (ED) vs. Urgent Care
- The “ED Habit”: Some patients go to the ED even for mild symptoms because they trust the resources there more than an Urgent Care or their own healthcare provider.
- Barriers to Care: Cost and lack of insurance still play a role in where people go, but “severity of symptoms” remains the #1 driver for ED visits.
- The Role of the Action Plan: Patients with a clear, written Asthma Action Plan are often better at identifying when a flare is starting, which can help them avoid the ER by taking action earlier.
- Follow-Up is Critical: A visit to the ER or UC should always be followed by an appointment with an allergist or pulmonologist within 48-72 hours to prevent the next attack
“Can we get a quote from a parent about the subject?”
— quote author.
Healthcare-Seeking Behaviors for Acute Asthma: A US Cross-sectional Survey
Gardner DD, Gokani R, Hey-Hadavi J, Williams D, Castro M, Israel E, and Quintero A.
2026
Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
DOI: 10.1016/j.anai.2025.03.025
