IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS LIVING WITH ASTHMA

ABSTRACT

Asthma is among the top ten most common chronic diseases worldwide causing significant social and economic burden on the patient, family and healthcare system. More than five million people are affected by asthma, and each year these diseases disrupt daily life and productivity of many individuals and contribute to thousands of deaths as a results of failure to identify patients at risk and or to appreciate the severity of acute episodes. Despite the availability of safe and

effective respiratory medication, problems such as under diagnosis, medication adherence issues and poor understanding of asthma have led to the conditions being poorly managed worldwide. The work described in this thesis was directed at learning more about how asthma will manage in the community and steps that can be taken to improve the management of this condition.

Management strategies for persistent asthma include daily inhaled corticosteroids, leukotriene, and combination therapy. Finally, regular monitoring of symptom, control and medication side effects is very essential.