Closing Gaps In Asthma Care (May 3, 2022 is World Asthma Day)

World Asthma Day (WAD) ( 3 May, 2022) is organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma, (GINA), a World Health Organization collaborative organization founded in 1993.  WAD is held each May to raise awareness of Asthma worldwide.

Although asthma cannot be cured, it is possible to manage asthma to reduce and prevent asthma attacks, also called episodes or exacerbations.

GINA has chosen ‘Closing Gaps in Asthma Care’ as the theme for the 2022 World Asthma Day.

There are a number of gaps in asthma care which require intervention in order to reduce preventable suffering as well as the costs incurred by treating uncontrolled asthma.

Current gaps in asthma care include:

• in equal access to diagnosis and treatment (medicine)
• between care for different socioeconomic, ethnic and age groups
• between wealthy and poorer communities and countries;
• in communication and care across the primary/secondary/tertiary care interface
• in communication and education provided for people with asthma, (quality of asthma care plans vs)
• in asthma knowledge and asthma awareness between health care providers
• in prioritization between asthma and other long term conditions
• between prescribing inhalers and monitoring adherence and ability to use these devices;
• exist for the general public’s (non-asthmatics) and health care professional’s awareness and understanding that asthma is a chronic (not acute) disease.
• between scientific evidence and actual delivery of care for people with asthma.

Addressing these gaps can be partially achieved through provision of the annually updated evidence based GINA strategy documents.

However, implementing recommendations based on scientific evidence is challenging across the globe. Not all local solutions are applicable globally and similarly global recommendations may not be applicable locally.

The challenge posed by this year’s theme is for international respiratory communities to work together with colleagues, patients and health care providers to identify and close the gaps in asthma care and to help implement and share innovative solutions locally and globally.

For more information about World Asthma Day, visit https://ginasthma.org/world-asthma-day-2022/

For Asthma Care information, visit https://www.nationalasthma.org.au/understanding-asthma