Public consultation on the draft National Asthma Strategy 2016-2020 was held during August. We were delighted to hear from almost one hundred different people and organisations with an interest in how Australia faces the challenges of asthma.
The Strategy is our national plan for reducing the impact of asthma on individuals, the community and the economy – taking Australia to the next stage of improvement in asthma health outcomes and research endeavours.
Responses covered the breadth and depth of those touched by this plan, yet taken as a whole, the draft Strategy was fundamentally supported by those who responded.
We are currently finalising the draft Strategy for submission to the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council for endorsement, with a view to publication in autumn 2016.
Help COPD Athlete get to the New York City Marathon
Some of our readers may be familiar with the inspirational story of one of our regular bloggers, Russell Winwood aka COPD Athlete.
Russell is a father, husband and small business owner who has fought asthma since he was a child and was delivered a second blow when he was unexpectedly diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at age 42. However, Russell overcame the odds and, in an extraordinary effort to fight the disease, started competing in triathlon events.
We believe Russell's story supports the mountain of evidence and a key recommendation in our Australian Asthma Handbook that exercise and a healthy lifestyle is beneficial to anyone with asthma or other lung conditions – one reason we are supporting Russell in realising his dream of running in the New York City Marathon while raising awareness of the benefits of exercise to people with chronic lung disease.
In association with the American Lung Association, Russell has been running a crowd-funding campaign all year to get to New York, and with only a few weeks to go, he is still a little short of his target. Can you help?
The launch of our new online social hub for kids and parents, The Asthma Experts, during last month's National Asthma Week was tremendously successful and it has fast established itself as the go-to online destination for the latest and best asthma advice.
Although the frenzy of activity that accompanied its launch has slowed down, we have big plans for the hub that will see new content added regularly – that means more video, more blog posts, more fact sheets and other resources, more of the latest research news and lots of other informative asthma content is on its way.
Even better, the Hub brings together like-minded people with asthma and allergies (and parents of children with asthma and allergies) so they can compare advice and strategies and help each other: a genuine asthma community.
Spring clean to reduce asthma and allergy triggers in your home
With warmer weather just around the corner, now’s the time to think about spring cleaning. If you are one of the two million Australians with asthma, this is an especially important time of the year.
Over the winter months dust, dirt and allergens such as mould can build up in your home, triggering allergy symptoms and asthma in susceptible people.
With more than eight in 10 people suffering from asthma also being affected by allergies, a clean and healthy environment is an important part of reducing asthma and allergy triggers.
We've put together a list of tips tailor-made for people with asthma and allergies so you can make the most of your spring clean and ensure a healthy home for you and your family.
The Lung Foundation Australia is currently piloting a brilliant initiative to bring together communities and improve the health and wellbeing of Australians.
Impacting not only your own health but the health of people around you, smoking is particularly dangerous for people with asthma, so we wholeheartedly support the initiative, which supports the most effective way to quit smoking: a personalised treatment plan developed with a healthcare professional coupled with stop smoking medication.
Another great aspect of the campaign is its involvement of local communities in people's quit quests with four local councils from across eastern Australia supporting their residents in giving smoking the flick. QUIT4october also has its own Instagram account so you can follow participant's progress and even offer your own support by using the #QUIT4october hashtag.
