May 2007

World Asthma Day Roundup

   Written Asthma Action Plan campaign launched

   Fifth World Asthma Day Jogathon receives overwhelming response

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Reports

   Patterns of asthma medication use in Australia

   Survey questions for monitoring national asthma indicators

“Community Outcomes in Asthma” Web Directory

Reports from American Thoracic Society 2007 Conference

Australian Asthma and Respiratory Educators Association 2007 Conference

2008 NHMRC National Institute of Clinical Studies Fellowship

Research Funding Opportunities 

Conference Diary 2007

World Asthma Day Roundup

Written Asthma Action Plan campaign launched

A new information campaign urging all Australians suffering from asthma to talk to their doctor about a written Asthma Action Plan was launched on May 1 by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Brett Mason.

The National Asthma Council Australia (NAC) Chairman, Professor John Wilson, introduced Senator Mason who outlined the two-month, print and radio campaign.

Campaign advertisement

Campaign poster

The key messages of the awareness campaign are: ‘Plan to stay symptom free’ and ‘You can with an asthma action plan’.

“Too many people either don’t realise that they have asthma, or don’t realise that they can control it,” Senator Mason said.

“A written Asthma Action Plan developed by the patient with his or her doctor, is an essential part of asthma self management and can reduce the need to visit hospitals and doctors. With good management, most people with asthma can live free from symptoms.”

Senator Mason said the campaign was particularly trying to reach parents and carers of children with asthma, older Australians, and people who have been diagnosed recently with asthma or with asthma-like symptoms. Doctors will also be alerted to the campaign’s important message through the medical press and an asthma resources pack, which will be mailed to every general practitioner.

Parallel campaigns will run in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and in non-English speaking communities. Follow-up activity will be undertaken later in 2007 and in 2008.

Ms Kristine Whorlow, CEO NAC, (left) Ms Siobhan Brophy, Communications Manager NAC, (centre) and Ms  Vanessa McDonald, Asthma Educator Qld, (right) pictured at the campaign launch in Brisbane.

Speaking shortly after the launch in Brisbane Ms Kristine Whorlow, NAC Chief Executive Officer, said, "The National Asthma Council Australia welcomes the launch of the Australian Government's asthma awareness campaign."

"It is very important to keep the profile of asthma high and the campaign will focus on the use of written Asthma Action Plans by people with asthma."

"Written Asthma Action Plans are shown by evidence to improve asthma health outcomes. This means that use of a written Asthma Action Plan, training in self management, plus regular doctors consultations means reduced emergency department visits, reduced urgent GP visits and reduces the need for extra medication."

Ms Whorlow also noted, "The asthma awareness campaign will give us the opportunity to communicate properly for the first time with our Indigenous communities and also with members of our ethnic communities."

Campaign support for ‘Plan to Stay Symptom Free’

As part of the new Australian Government asthma awareness campaign, print and radio advertisements will run during May and June and general practitioners will receive an information kit in early May which will include a brochure and poster on asthma.

To see these materials go to 2007 Campaign Materials

Timely reminder

World Asthma Day falling in the first week of May each year is an excellent time to make sure that your written Asthma Action Plan is up to date and you have had your influenza vaccination.

People with asthma or their carers should ask their doctor about developing an Asthma Action Plan if they do not already have one.

For most parts of Australia, Autumn is the best time to have your influenza vaccination, before serious outbreaks of influenza can begin to occur.

In the far north of Australia outbreaks can occur early in the year and vaccination should be undertaken as early as possible. It usually takes about two weeks for full immunity to develop. 

See Written Asthma Action Plans

and Asthma & Influenza - the Facts

Fifth World Asthma Day Jogathon receives overwhelming response

Tan Sri Datuk Dr Ismail Merican flagging off the Jogathon participants

Jogathon participants taking part  in the warm up exercise

The CEO of the NAC acts as an advisor to the Asthma Council Malaysia which holds a jogathon in Kuala Lumpur each year to celebrate World Asthma Day (May 1, 2007), along with activities in other areas.

The fifth consecutive World Asthma Day Jogathon, jointly organised by the Asthma Council Malaysia (ACM), Lung Foundation of Malaysia (LFM) and Malaysian Thoracic Society (MTS), with support from GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, spread its message to more than 1,300 participants, that active lives are possible with proper treatment and management of the disease.

The largest gathering to-date, it acts as a fitting testimony to asthma patients who are dedicated to achieving and maintaining control over the disease while encouraging others to strive for better control of their conditions.

This year’s World Asthma Day Jogathon which was officially launched by Tan Sri Datuk Dr Ismail Merican, Director General of Health Malaysia also featured an exhibition as well as quizzes whereby the public were invited to learn more about asthma and what they can do to effectively cope with the disease via proper treatment strategies.

“Many people who suffer from asthma often refrain from certain activities for fear of triggering an asthma attack. This should not be the case, as they can do just about everything a normal person does with proper treatment and management of the disease,” said Dr Norzila Mohamed Zainudin, Chairperson of the ACM and World Asthma Day Jogathon organizing committee.

The theme for this year’s jogathon, ‘Easy Breathing, Wonderful Living’ is demonstrated by the good number of asthma patients who take part in the jogathon annually. Dr Norzila further asserted that “Those who suffer from asthma can enjoy an improved quality of life when they choose not to allow asthma to control their lives.”

Apart form the main jogathon event, there was also a children’s art competition and participants were entertained by clowns and stilt walkers and treated to a musical performance by one of the local school bands.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Reports

During May two Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports concerning asthma were released.

Patterns of asthma medication use in Australia

Drug therapy is the cornerstone of treatment for controlling asthma and preventing and relieving attacks. This report describes the first study to use national data from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to investigate the patterns of asthma medication use in Australia.

It examines the effects of sociodemographic characteristics on the frequency of use of these medications, the potency of prescribed medications and the relationships between different classes of asthma medications.

The methods used in this study are likely to be applicable to researchers investigating medication use for other conditions and diseases. The results will also be of interest to clinicians and policy makers in asthma.

Key points include:

Most people who use inhaled corticosteroids use them intermittently, even though guidelines recommend that these drugs be used regularly by those who need them.

Most adults also use the strongest formulations of inhaled corticosteroids, even though less potent formulations are often effective and have fewer side effects.

Most people take short-acting reliever drugs (such as Ventolin) occasionally, suggesting better use of this medication class, which should not be needed regularly if symptoms are under control.

People living in remote areas use asthma medications less than people living in cities.

People with concession cards, who are able to purchase medications at a much cheaper price than general patients, use more inhaled corticosteroids than general patients. This raises a barrier to use issue.

While there are some limitations to the information in the PBS data - for example, not all medications used for the treatment of asthma are recorded, and some short-acting reliever drugs, like Ventolin can be bought without a prescription - the PBS data still provides a valuable source of information about medication use in Australia.

See the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Publications Catalogue for availability.
A free PDF for download is available for Patterns of asthma medication use in Australia  (http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10356)

Survey questions for monitoring national asthma indicators

This report provides a recommended module of survey questions that can be used to monitor national asthma indicators. This is to assist those people who are conducting surveys to select reliable questions that can be used to collect key information about asthma such as

• prevalence,
• management issues,
• level of disease control, and
• impacts of the disease on the health system and individuals.

See the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Publications Catalogue for availability.
A free PDF for download is available for Survey questions for monitoring national asthma indicators (http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10468)

“Community Outcomes in Asthma” Web Directory

Between 2002 and 2005, the Asthma Foundation of WA coordinated the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing National Asthma Community Grants Scheme. The Grants Scheme involved small grants of $500 to $12,000 being offered to health services and community organisations across Australia. Funding was provided to projects that aimed to improve the health of people with asthma, provide information which promoted better asthma management and promote awareness of better asthma management among individuals and health practitioners.

The Asthma Foundation of WA has received additional funding from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing to develop an electronic directory for the Asthma Australia website that will provide detailed information on the nearly 700 projects. It is envisaged that the Community Outcomes in Asthma directory will publicise the excellent work carried out by the various health services, community groups and individuals who participated in the Grants Scheme, encouraging collaboration and discussion amongst professionals with an interest in the area of asthma and health promotion.

The directory will enable health professionals and community groups to search through the grant projects by year, topic, state, target audience and keyword. A number of showcase grants will be highlighted for each state, with additional information about the successes and barriers that the grant recipients experienced during the project. Electronic copies of any resources that were produced by the showcase grants will also be available for download.

The projects covered topics across a broad range of asthma-related issues. For example, the Bendigo Community Health Service initiated the Golden Healthy Asthma Sports Project in order to promote the asthma health status of players, parents and associated volunteers of the Golden Square Football Netball Club.

Yorke Peninsula Division of General Practice developed a Desktop Asthma Management Tool for GP's and allied health professionals to access when dealing with clients with asthma. The tool provides consistent educational evidence based approach to asthma management and encourages health professionals to work in partnership with their asthma consumers to improve asthma management.

Port Lincoln Aboriginal Health Service conducted an "Indigenous Asthma Awareness Program" and disseminated asthma management information amongst members of the local Aboriginal community. Aboriginal Health Workers (AHW's) and nurses within the Port Lincoln Aboriginal Health Service were offered training, health promotion activities were conducted, an asthma educator was employed and a culturally appropriate TV commercial was developed for broadcast.

To view these and many other projects, visit the Asthma Australia website www.asthmaaustralia.org.au after June 2007.

For more information, please contact Vanessa Seebeck at the Asthma Foundation of WA on 08 9289 3602.

Reports from American Thoracic Society 2007 Conference  

The American Thoracic Society held its annual scientific conference from May 18-23 in San Francisco, USA . The following reports were released during the conference.

More kilos equals worse asthma?

A new study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference finds that obese people are significantly more likely to have persistent or severe persistent asthma than their thinner counterparts.

The study looked at 3,059 adults with asthma, who were divided into three groups: non-overweight, overweight and obese, based on their body mass index (BMI). Compared with non-overweight asthma patients, obese patients (BMI≥30) were more likely to report having continuous symptoms, have more ER visits, miss more days of work, use more rescue inhaler medications and use inhaled steroids to control asthma.

Obese patients were 66% more likely to report having asthma symptoms all of the time, were 47% less likely to be in asthma remission, and 52% more likely to have severe persistent asthma than non-overweight people with asthma. Obese asthmatics were also 36% more likely to miss more than two days of work per year due to asthma than non-overweight asthma patients.

"There have been a number of studies on obesity and asthma prevalence, but until now there has been little data on obesity and asthma severity," said lead researcher Brian Taylor, MD, of Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta.

The studies that have been done have been small, but this study took data from the National Asthma Survey, which includes 5,741 asthmatics, Dr Taylor noted. "We had enough data to adjust for other factors, such as gender, race, income and employment status, and ensure that these factors were not playing a role in the results. Even after taking these variables into account, the association between obesity and asthma severity still held."

Dr Taylor noted that this study, like many previous studies, shows the link between asthma and obesity is more prominent in women. "A big part of that is simply that 70% of the study subjects were women," he said. "We did find a statistically significant association between obesity and asthma severity in men, too."

While it's not known for sure how asthma and obesity are linked, Dr Taylor noted that one potential mechanism seems to be an association between the hormone leptin, which is produced by fat cells and plays a role in body weight regulation, and inflammation of airways seen in asthma. Obesity also may impact the lungs in other ways to increase the risk of asthma.

A recent review of studies, which was published in the ATS's own American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, suggested that asthma incidence could be reduced by interventions targeting overweight and obesity. Led by Dr Fernando Holguin, Dr Taylor and colleagues are now studying whether patients who undergo bariatic, or weight-loss, surgery experience an improvement in airway function compared with obese patients who don't have the surgery.

House dust may protect against allergic disease early in life

Endotoxin, a toxic substance made by certain types of bacteria, may reduce the risk of developing the allergic skin condition eczema or wheezing in children if they are exposed to it up to age three, suggests a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference.

Endotoxin is a part of the cell wall of gram-negative bacteria, a type of bacteria that often causes disease. Endotoxin is released when the bacteria dies or is damaged. The new study found that the lower the amount of endotoxin in young children’s homes, the more likely they were to have wheezing or eczema by age three. The higher the amount of endotoxin in their homes, the less likely they were to develop either condition by age three.

“We’re trying to find why children exposed to endoxotin have lower levels of disease early in life,” said researcher Melisa Celaya, MA, of the Arizona Respiratory Center in Tucson.

Celaya found that certain environmental factors increased the levels of endotoxin in a home: having a home older than 30 years, substandard home conditions, carpeting, a musty smell and interior wall leaks were all associated with higher levels of endotoxin.

Blood samples were taken from 484 children enrolled in the Infant Immune Study at different ages, up to five years of age. “We will be looking at the relationship between endotoxin levels in the home and chemicals (called cytokines) that are produced by certain immune system cells, to see why children exposed to lower levels are developing more allergic symptoms later on,” she said. “This study is unusual in that we are following children over a long period, and are looking at both environmental factors and immunological factors, so we can correlate the two.”

The researchers also plan to study whether genetic predisposition changes a child’s responses to environmental triggers.

Hotter is better for removing allergens in laundry

A new study finds that the heat setting you choose when doing laundry makes all the difference when it comes to killing dust mites. The researchers found that washing laundry in hot water --60 ºC or higher -- kills all house dust mites, compared with just 6.5% of dust mites in laundry washed at 40 ºC, or warm water.

Hotter water temperatures are also more effective in removing dog dander and pollen, said lead researcher Jung-Won Park, MD, PhD, of Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea.

There is an alternative to washing in hot water that’s also effective, Dr Park found: washing at a lower temperature (between 86-104° F, or 30-40 ºC), then rinsing the laundry twice with cold water for three minutes each.

In the study, researchers compared allergen levels on cotton sheets after they were washed in various temperature settings. They found that since more pollen was left on the sheets when they were washed in cooler temperatures 30ºC, rinsing the sheets was especially important when using this temperature setting.

Australian Asthma and Respiratory Educators Association 2007 Conference

“Come and breathe new life into your practice”

The conference will take place on 29-30 November 2007 at the Legends Hotel in Surfers Paradise.

Abstracts are invited for oral presentations from health professionals involved in the specialised field of asthma and respiratory health education. The presentation may relate to research or the development and assessment of a clinical or education service.

Oral presentations should be current in both content and clinical or education issues addressed.

Abstracts must be submitted online by 1 June 2007 and must be prepared in accordance with guidelines.

For more information see:

Call for Abstracts for Oral Presentations

Asthma and Respiratory Educators Conference 2007

www.aareducation.org.au

2008 NHMRC National Institute of Clinical Studies Fellowship

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is inviting early-to-mid career health professionals with a keen commitment to improving health care in Australia to apply for a 2008 NHMRC National Institute of Clinical Studies Fellowship (NICS). NICS is an institute within the NHMRC and works to improve healthcare by getting health and medical research into practice.

Established in 2003, the NHMRC’s NICS Fellowship Program identifies and supports health professionals who are future leaders in evidence-based health care to address an evidence-practice gap in clinical practice.

The two year, half-time Fellowships provide health professionals with mentoring, training, national and international networking and practical support to ensure their success.

For more information see www.nhmrc.gov.au/nics and the 2008 Fellowship Program

Research Funding Opportunities