Table 4 Source of information/advice on symptoms, asthma management and minimising exposure to landscape fire smoke reported by participants during the 2019/20 Australian landscape fires
From: The impact of prolonged landscape fire smoke exposure on women with asthma in Australia
Action taken | Pregnant women | Breastfeeding women | Non-pregnant and non-breastfeeding |
|---|---|---|---|
n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
Sought health advice from a health professional for symptoms | 35/65 (53.8) | 32/61 (52.5) | 87/189 (46.0) |
 General practitioner | 26 (40.0) | 23 (37.7) | 69 (36.5) |
 Pharmacist | 5 (7.7) | 16 (26.2) | 35 (18.5) |
 Other medical professional | 15 (23.1) | 2 (3.3) | 2 (1.1) |
 Emergency department | 1 (1.5) | 1 (1.6) | 7 (3.7) |
 24-hour health advice hotline | 0 (0.0) | 2 (3.3) | 6 (3.2) |
 Hospital inpatient | 0 (0.0) | 2 (3.3) | 0 (0.0) |
Took time off work because of the symptoms | 17 (26.1) | 20 (32.8) | 48 (25.4) |
Landscape fire was the main reason for any symptoms | |||
 Yes | 58 (89.2) | 47 (77.0) | 156 (82.5) |
 No | 3 (4.6) | 4 (6.6) | 8 (4.2) |
 Do not know/unsure | 4 (6.1) | 10 (16.4) | 21 (11.1) |
 Not exposed to wildfire | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (2.1) |
Advice on asthma management | 34 (42.0) | 25 (35.7) | 89 (38.4) |
 General practitioner | 25 (73.5) | 19 (76.0) | 63 (70.8) |
 Pharmacist | 2 (5.9) | 7 (28.0) | 25 (28.1) |
 News/current affairs stories | 0 (0) | 4 (16.0) | 26 (29.2) |
 Respiratory/asthma specialist | 11 (32.3) | 3 (12.0) | 5 (5.6) |
 Social media | 0 (0) | 3 (12.0) | 14 (15.7) |
 Nurse | 6 (17.6) | 1 (4.0) | 5 (5.6) |
 Family/friends | 1 (2.9) | 2 (8.0) | 6 (6.7) |
 Health department | 0 (0) | 1 (4.0) | 7 (7.9) |
 Asthma Australia | 0 (0) | 3 (12.0) | 4 (4.5) |
 Midwife/Obstetrician | 5 (14.7) | 1 (4.0) | NA |
 Othersa | 4 (11.8) | 4 (16.0) | 4 (4.5) |
Received advice about how to avoid or minimise exposure to landscape fire smoke | 36/81 (44.4) | 32/70 (45.7) | 106/232 (45.7) |
 News/current affairs stories | 12 (33.3) | 18 (56.2) | 58 (54.7) |
 General practitioner | 17 (47.2) | 14 (43.7) | 38 (35.8) |
 Social media | 9 (25.0) | 12 (37.5) | 48 (45.3) |
 Family/friends | 4 (11.1) | 9 (28.1) | 17 (16.0) |
 Health department | 5 (13.9) | 5 (15.6) | 19 (17.9) |
 Pharmacist | 2 (5.6) | 3 (9.4) | 15 (14.1) |
 Respiratory/asthma specialist | 8 (22.2) | 1 (3.1) | 3 (2.8) |
 Asthma Australia | 3 (8.3) | 2 (6.2) | 6 (5.7) |
 Nurse | 4 (11.1) | 0 (0) | 3 (2.8) |
 Midwife/Obstetrician | 5 (13.9) | 0 (0) | NA |
 Othersa | 5 (13.9) | 5 (15.6) | 11 (10.4) |