A systematic evaluation of paediatric allergy pathways in the West Midlands

[摘要] This thesis considers the design of paediatric allergy services in the West Midlands (WM) region. It is presented in 3 parts: the first discusses a systematic review of allergy service delivery pathways across the UK and the rest of the world; The second quantifies the burden of paediatric allergy across the WM and compares it with the rest of the country using data from the health information network (THIN) database for primary care and the hospital episodes statistics (HES) database for secondary care. The final part ascertains the experiences of parents in the WM region who have accessed these services through a qualitative study and elicits parental preferences for these services using a discrete choice experiment. The main argument put forth in this thesis is that services in a financially constrained environment should be planned efficiently and be responsive to the needs and preferences of the local population. A systematic way method to achieve this is presented along with recommendations for improving the efficacy and efficiency of paediatric allergy pathways in the WM region.

[发布机构] University:University of Birmingham;Department:Institute of Applied Health Research

[关键词] R Medicine;R Medicine (General)