Table 1
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Attributes and levels included in the study and constraints applied prior to analysis |
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| Attribute |
Levels |
Description |
Constraints |
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| Symptom relief provided by your treatment |
 Completely Mostly A little |
ORDINAL |
Completely > Mostly > A little |
| Inhaled steroid dose |
Always a low dose High dose when required but generally as little as possible High and regular steroid use |
NOMINAL (with constraints) |
Always low > Always high (no other assumptions made) |
| Use of a written personalised asthma action plan (PAAP) |
Full written instructions are provided by your doctor or nurse on how to recognise worsening asthma and how to alter your therapy yourself Brief written note is provided on how to take your medication No written instructions are provided |
NOMINAL |
None |
| Asthma crisis management |
You are encouraged to: Manage an asthma crisis yourself whenever possible Attend your local GP in the event of an asthma crisis Attend hospital in the event of an asthma crisis |
NOMINAL (with constraints) |
GP>Hospital Yourself>Hospital (no assumption on Yourself v GP) |
| Number of different inhalers |
A single inhaler is provided to you which contains all the inhaled medication you need for the management of your asthma No more than two inhalers are provided for the management of your asthma Three inhalers are provided to you for the management of your asthma |
ORDINAL |
1>at most 2>3 |
| Controlling your asthma symptoms |
You are encouraged to: Change your own therapy in response to changes in your symptoms without consulting a doctor or a nurse Speak to a doctor or nurse before making changes to treatment |
NOMINAL |
None |
Haughney et al. BMC Pulmonary Medicine 2007 7:16 doi:10.1186/1471-2466-7-16 |
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