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Union Asthma Division
Origins and aims
The Asthma Division was created in 1995 with a particular focus on action in low-and middle income countries.
Its first objective was to use the framework developed by The Union for the delivery of tuberculosis services as the model for
the delivery of asthma management. The Union Guide (Management of Asthma in Adults: a guide for low-income countries), based on the "tuberculosis model", and adapted from international asthma guidelines, was published in 1996.
The second objective of the Asthma Division is to develop an operational research programme to evaluate and sustain actions
and practices in countries in addition to evaluating measures proposed in the guide.
The Union Asthma Guide has been evaluated
by research studies in several low-and middle-income countries. These studies revealed the feasibility, efficiency and
effectiveness of these measures. Based on the results of this research, an updated version of the guide " Management of Asthma: a guide to the
essentials of good clinical practice ", including management of children with asthma, was published in 2005.
The Union supports international efforts in advocating for better lung health and commemorates World Asthma Day which is held
every year on the first Tuesday in May.
For more information on World Asthma Day, you can consult The Union page on World Asthma Day and the website of the Global
Initiative for Asthma (GINA):
http://www.ginasthma.com/WADIndex.asp
Asthma Drug Facility
The Union research studies on asthma showed that one of the principal barriers for asthma management implementation in
low-income countries is the high price of inhaled steroids. The Union has created an Asthma
Drug Facility (ADF), to provide access to affordable good quality essential asthma drugs. The ADF use pooled
procurement and other purchasing and supply strategies to obtain the lowest possible prices for essential asthma medication.
The ADF will supply this medication, as well as technical assistance and monitoring of the storage, distribution and use of
asthma drugs, to participating asthma management programmes. Low prices, when combined with accurate diagnosis and treatment
according to degree of severity, should significantly lower the total per patient cost of medications, allowing more patients
to afford effective treatment. For more information, please consult www.globaladf.org
Global Asthma Survey on Practice
In 2003, the The Union Asthma Division and a Working Group from the Respiratory Disease Section initiated the “Global Asthma
Survey on Practice (GASP) to assess an audit procedure for use in emergency room situations in 13 centres in 11 countries. Patients with acute severe asthma were examined and questioned about the severity of their disease and their
treatment in the previous four weeks. The study revealed that although new treatments and guidelines have improved asthma care,
they are being poorly implemented. Access to adequate treatment appears to be the critical factor for improving management of
asthma, as well more adequate training of physicians in public and private settings.
Findings from this Working Group can be found in The Union Activity Reports, 2003 and 2004, and the CD-ROM of the 36th Union
World Conference on Lung Health, 2005. For more information: communications@iuatld.org
International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC)
The Union Asthma Division collaborates with international research groups, such as the International Study of Asthma and
Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). The International Study demonstrates that asthma, by its scale and frequency, is a global
public health problem that includes Sub Saharan Africa where the average prevalence of asthma in large towns has already
reached 10% of children between 13 and 14 years old living in large cities. The Union Asthma Division is also collaborating on
joint rhinitis management project and its impact on asthma, « Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma »
(ARIA).
For further information:
Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA)
The Union Asthma Division also collaborates with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners on a new initiative «
Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma » (ARIA). The Union has participated in the updating of guidelines updates and in
collaborative research studies.
For more information on ARIA, browse the following website: www.whiar.org
Practical Approach to Lung Health (PAL)
The Union Asthma Division has been collaborating with the WHO for many years on the «Practical Approach to Lung health» (PAL) project which aims to propose countries with standardised management of asthma, integrated with acute respiratory
infections, tuberculosis, and other prevalent chronic respiratory diseases of high prevalence, that have been identified as public health problems.
For more information on PAL you can visit the WHO website: http://www.who.int/tb/dots/pal/en
Global Alliance Against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD)
The Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD) is a
voluntary alliance of internationally recognised organisations, institutions,
and agencies from developing and developed countries aimed at sharing
expertise, identifying problems, promoting solutions, coordinating activities
and working towards the common goal of fighting chronic respiratory diseases.
This new initiative of the WHO was officially launched on the 28 March
2006 in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The Union is a collaborating
partner.
For more information: http://www.who.int/gard/en/
The Alliance launched GARD Francophone on 11 April in Paris, France.
It aims to coordinate the fight against chronic respiratory diseases in
French-speaking countries. Further information on http://www.who.int/gard/news_events/Francophone_launch/en/index.html
Further resources and publications from The Union Asthma Division
1. Technical guide: Management of Asthma.
A Guide to the Essentials of Good Clinical Practice. [ Download
PDF file ]
The third edition of the guide is being finalised.
If you would like to order a paper copy, available in English only, please contact: documents@iuatld.org
2. The Union's Standardised questionnaire for epidemiological
research [ download word version ]
3. Factsheet : Asthma: a worldwide problem
4. Powerpoint presentations
1. Asthma in developing countries. [ download ]
2. Self-management in Asthma. [ download ]
5. Other publications of The Union Asthma Division. [ Download the PDF ]
6. Articles in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD)
The Journal is now running two 6-month series of articles on asthma:
IJTLD Editorial: Vol. 10 N° 2 (February 2006) [ download the PDF ]
- Asthma Drug Facility: from concept to reality [ Download
the PDF ]
- Do we need an Asthma Drug Facility? [ Download
the PDF ]
- Affordability of inhaled corticosteroids as a potential barrier to
treatment of asthma in some developing countries [ Download
the PDF ]
- Implementation of asthma guidelines in health centres of several developing
countries [ Download
the PDF ]
To access the series as well as all articles on asthma in the IJTLD,
you may consult the ingenta website at:
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/
Events
- ATS and ERS conferences
The next American Thoracic Society international conference will take
place in Toronto, Canada, from 16 to 21 May 2008. For further information: http://www.thoracic.org/
The next European Respiratory Society annual congress will take
place in Berlin, Germany, from 4 to 8 October 2008. For further information:
http://dev.ersnet.org/
Reproduction of any Union documents for
commercial purposes is strictly prohibited.
Conditions of use
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