Md. Nazim Uzzaman

Project: Exploring the delivery of online asthma reviews as an option in primary care from the perspective of the patient, the healthcare professional and the organisation: a mixed-methods study nested in the IMP2ART programme of work

Asthma reviews have many functions including addressing the patient’s concerns and questions; assessing control and reviewing medication; and supporting self-management. Supported self-management of asthma, which includes the provision of a written asthma action plan and regular medical review, helps people adjust their treatment in response to changes in symptoms, and studies have shown that it improves day-to-day control and reduces the need for healthcare services. Despite having recommended guidelines for supported self-management for over 30 years, unfortunately, less than a third of people attend a general practice for routine review and have an asthma action plan. Among others, practical barriers to attending face-to-face consultations might limit regular asthma reviews. Remote consultations have increasingly been used around the world as a way to manage the rising number of people with long-term health conditions, reduce the burden on emergency and inpatient services, and improve health outcomes. Moreover, the need for infection control during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a change in the organisation of primary care, including a move to remote consulting, has particular resonance.

Despite policy drives to technological innovation and promotion by patient organisations, it is not clear how asthma reviews can be delivered in remote – or more specifically online consultations. Online asthma reviews, as an option in primary care, are likely to be convenient, but little is known about how these online reviews are being used, if/how they are acceptable and useful to patients, and if they are perceived as effective and safe by the healthcare professionals. Using mixed methods, this PhD will explore the use of online asthma reviews (in the context of multiple modes of consulting) from the perspective of patients, health care professionals and key stakeholders, develop processes for safe use of online reviews and test their feasibility in routine primary care.

About me

My interest lies in developing a clinical academic career in respiratory applied health research and contributing to reducing the burden of chronic respiratory illness, specifically asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

I completed my MBBS in 2010 and attained an Master of Public Health degree thereafter. I was a Research Fellow in the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Respiratory Health (RESPIRE) at the University of Edinburgh. Besides providing patient care, I have previous research experience examining the issues of delivering pulmonary rehabilitation in low-resource settings for people with chronic respiratory diseases, as well as blended learning and e-health.

Research outputs

‪Publications

• Sujon H, Uzzaman MN, Banu S, Islam MR, Asaduzzaman M, Ahmed A, Uddin A, Sarker MHR. Professional Development of Health Researchers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Prospects of Synchronous Online Learning. J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2022 Jan 17. doi: 10.1097/CEH.0000000000000407. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35001044.
• Sarker MHR, Moriyama M, Rahman MM, Das SK, Uzzaman MN, Das J, Uddin A, Banu S, Khan SH, Shahid AS, Shahunja KM, Chisti MJ, Faruque ASG, Ahmed T. Characteristics of Rotavirus, ETEC, and Vibrio Cholerae Among Under 2-year Children Attending an Urban Diarrheal Disease Hospital in Bangladesh. J Prim Care Community Health. 2021 Jan-Dec;12:21501327211049118. doi: 10.1177/21501327211049118. PMID: 34632833; PMCID: PMC8512248.
• Uzzaman MN, Chan SC, Shunmugam RH, Engkasan JP, Agarwal D, Habib GMM, Hanafi NS, Jackson T, Jebaraj P, Khoo EM, Liew SM, Mirza FT, Pinnock H, Rabinovich RA. Clinical effectiveness and components of Home-pulmonary rehabilitation for people with chronic respiratory diseases: a systematic review protocol. BMJ Open. 2021 Oct 12;11(10):e050362. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050362. PMID: 34642195; PMCID: PMC8513265.
• Habib GM, Uzzaman MN, Malik P, Rabinovich R, Uddin A, Alam SR, Williams S, Pinnock H. Engaging with stakeholders in a research programme to promote implementation of pulmonary rehabilitation in Bangladesh: Challenges and opportunities. J Glob Health. 2020 Dec;10(2):020384. doi: 10.7189/jogh.10.020384. PMID: 33282216; PMCID: PMC7688197.
• Habib GMM, Rabinovich R, Divgi K, Ahmed S, Saha SK, Singh S, Uddin A, Uzzaman MN, Pinnock H. Systematic review of clinical effectiveness, components, and delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation in low-resource settings. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2020 Nov 19;30(1):52. doi: 10.1038/s41533-020-00210-y. PMID: 33214560; PMCID: PMC7677536.
• Uzzaman MN, Jackson T, Uddin A, Rowa-Dewar N, Chisti MJ, Habib GMM, Pinnock H; RESPIRE Collaborators. Continuing professional education for general practitioners on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: feasibility of a blended learning approach in Bangladesh. BMC Fam Pract. 2020 Sep 28;21(1):203. doi: 10.1186/s12875-020-01270-2. PMID: 32988371; PMCID: PMC7521769.
• Uzzaman MN, Banu S, Habib GM, Hossain AE, Kabir MJ, Karim MR, Islam MR, Sarker MHR, Uddin MJ, Uddin A. Improving Physicians' Capacity for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Care through Blended E-learning: A Pilot Study in Bangladesh. Cureus. 2018 Dec 31;10(12):e3808. doi: 10.7759/cureus.3808. PMID: 30868022; PMCID: PMC6402724.
• Zahirul Islam M, Rutherford S, Phung D, Uzzaman MN, Baum S, Huda MM, Asaduzzaman M, Talukder MRR, Chu C. Correlates of Climate Variability and Dengue Fever in Two Metropolitan Cities in Bangladesh. Cureus. 2018 Oct 1;10(10):e3398. doi: 10.7759/cureus.3398. PMID: 30533332; PMCID: PMC6278996.
• Asaduzzaman M, Chowdhury S, Shahed JH, Kafi MAH, Uzzaman MN, Flowra MT, Ahmed MM. Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Among Urban Bihari Communities in Dhaka, Bangladesh: A Cross-sectional Study in a Minor Ethnic Group. Cureus. 2018 Jan 26;10(1):e2116. doi: 10.7759/cureus.2116. PMID: 29593946; PMCID: PMC5871323.
• Uzzaman, M. N., Khan, M. A. F., Ahmed, T., Sarker, M. H. R., Yeasmin, S., Saqeeb, K. N., & Chisti, M. J. (2016). Neonatal pneumonia in a rural primary care hospital in Bangladesh: prevalence, validation of clinical features and their outcome. Bangladesh Critical Care Journal, 4(2), 74–78. https://doi.org/10.3329/bccj.v4i2.30020 

Posters

• Exploring the delivery of online asthma reviews in primary care: a mixed-methods study. Uzzaman MN, Hammersley V, McClatchey K, Sheringham J, Pinnock H. Presented at the 11th IPCRG World Conference 2022.

The IMP²ART Programme

This PhD is part of the IMP²ART programme: IMPlementing IMProved Asthma self-management as RouTine. Find out more about the programme.

IMP²ART