TABLE 2.

Key themes: patients’ perceptions and opinions about non-response and response to biological treatment for severe asthma

• Positive response to biological therapy reduces both disease and treatment burdens for a person with severe asthma. Patients frame this in relation to the specific activities which are meaningful to them as an individual.

• Patients may continue to make lifestyle adjustments even when responding to biological therapy.

• Patients differentiate the degree of response on a continuum from positive to negative, as well as changes in response over time. Response is fluid for some individuals.

• Side-effect profile, time to onset of efficacy, access and cost, and practicalities of treatment administration are important factors when patients consider the benefits and risks of biological therapy.

• An individual's mental health can be impacted by limited response to therapy or when an initial response diminishes over time. This may increase their experience of disease and treatment burden.

• Patients recognise the importance of stopping ineffective biological therapy in order to trial new therapies or allow further investigative tests.