OBJECTIVES: Young adults with asthma have difficulty adhering to their prescribed inhaled corticosteroids. We aim to explore the support needs of young adults living with asthma

METHODS: Young adults (18-29 years old) diagnosed with asthma and prescribed a daily inhaled corticosteroid were purposively recruited to participate in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants via a teleconferencing app, recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was performed using NVivo software. The study received approval from the author's institutional review board.

RESULTS: Four participants were recruited. Four themes emerged. 1) Support needs from clinicians include prescribing medications, assessing medication adherence, monitoring asthma symptoms, treating flare-ups, and educating on device use. Young adults believe collaboration between physicians and pharmacists may facilitate quicker medication refills. 2) Social support includes ensuring the availability of medications, monitoring adherence, and accompanying young adults to physician appointments. Social support for medication-taking comes mostly from family and, to a lesser extent, friends. Social support from family declines in emerging adulthood compared to when participants were younger. 3) Educational support: participants were interested in learning more about asthma, device use, the different medications, and their mechanisms of action. 4) Self-management support: Many participants admitted a need for a system to track inhaler use linked to clinicians to facilitate quicker refills, reminders to take medications daily, and ensuring availability of medications, especially during trips. Young adults have different experiences regarding the level of support received from clinicians, families, and friends.

CONCLUSIONS: Young adults are receptive to guidance from healthcare providers to better understand and manage their asthma diagnosis. Young adults would benefit from increased support from family or friends in remembering to obtain medication refills and use their inhalers daily. Future studies may examine how to leverage family and friends to support young adults' medication use.