#AskAboutAsthma 2021 campaign

The #AskAboutAsthma campaign returned for its fifth year in 2021.

To coincide with the start of the new school year and the highest hospital admission rates for asthma (week 38), the NHS is running an awareness campaign #AskAboutAsthma to encourage small steps to help improve the quality of life for London’s children and young people living with asthma.

The #AskAboutAsthma campaign encourages

  • Each child and young person with asthma to have an asthma management plan
  • Each child and young person with asthma to be able to use their inhalers effectively
  • Each child and young person with asthma to have a review every year and after every attack
  • It also includes the impact of air quality on lung health

The schedule for the week can be found here with links

Monday 20 September

Webinar – Ask the Expert

Podcast – Encouraging behavioural change in teenagers – Rob Horne

Blog  – Association of Young People’s Health scoping review on CYP engagement

Blog – Asthmanauts launch – education and activity guide for CYP

Vlog – How the Asthma UK/BLF helpline supports our families , by Debby Waddell

Tuesday 21 September

Webinar – Nurse-led delivery of excellent CYP asthma care

Webinar – Pharmacy focus: Case study demonstrating opportunities for care; inhaler technique optimisation; making every contact count/Healthy living pharmacy

Podcast – Is it possible to complete a good virtual asthma assessment?

Blog – A day in the life of a Paediatric Respiratory Nurse

Blog – Transition and non biologic patients

Blog – Setting up a CNS asthma network

Wednesday 22 September

Webinar – Whole systems: delivering optimal care across the asthma pathway

Webinar – Impact of air quality on lung health and management strategies

Podcast – Using and prescribing inhalers effectively to help the environment

Blog – Asthma and air quality: working together to improve lung health

Blog – Asthma, pollen & pollution – selecting the best plants for healthy living

Blog – Have you heard about house dust mites?

Blog – Damp homes and human health

Thursday 23 September

Blog – Right Asthma Image Campaign

Slides – Ask About Asthma conference 2021 slides. If you’d like to request the slides for individual presentations, please email england.CYPtransformationLDN@nhs.net to request.

Slides – ICS paediatric asthma priorities and workplans

Conference recordings:

Welcome, introduction and background – Oliver Anglin, Clinical Director for CYP Transformation – NHSE (London) & Clinical Lead for Children and Young People – North Central London CCG​, – Jen Townshend, General and respiratory paediatrician, Great North Children’s Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, Chief Executive of BEATAsthma​

Patient Voice – our healthcare journey – Aishah Farooq & Haania Hussain, patient and public voice partners at NHS England​

National Update – Matthew Clark, National Specialty Advisor for Children and Young People at NHS England

Ensuring effective transition: working with adult respiratory services​ – Louise Fleming, Consultant in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital Trust & Clinical Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London

ICS rolling slides

Clinical update – Ian Sinha, Consultant respiratory paediatrician from Alder Hey Children’s Hospital​

Beat Asthma – working together in the North East and beyond​ – Jen Townshend, General and respiratory paediatrician, Great North Children’s Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, Chief Executive of BEATAsthma​

Salbutamol: relief or rescue – time to put out the fire? – Louise Fleming, Consultant in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital Trust & Clinical Senior Lecturer, National Heart and Lung Institute

What to include in a post – attack review; where and when should it be held?​ – Chin Nwokoro, Chair (Consultant Respiratory Paediatrician and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, Barts Health NHS Trust and Queen Mary University of London), Richard Chavasse, Paediatric respiratory consultant, St George’s Hospital London​, Carol Stonham, Respiratory Nurse NHS Gloucestershire CCG, Executive chair PCRS , Oliver Anglin, Clinical Director for CYP Transformation – NHSE (London) & Clinical Lead for Children and Young People – North Central London CCG​

Friday 24 September

Webinar –  Best practice CYP asthma for primary care: Enhanced asthma reviews; Refresher on asthma medication

Podcast – The things I wish I didn’t know about asthma

Blog – From evidence to implementation, data-driven approach to improving quality standards in asthma

Blog – Diagnostic hubs and respiratory champions at PCN level

Saturday 25 September

Podcast – Benefits and challenges on making schools asthma friendly

Blog – High risk patient work: CNS perspective

Blog – Asthma awareness week: A local perspective (Whipps Cross Hospital)

Blog – Learning from an asthma death in Waltham Forest

Sunday 26 September

Podcast – Preventer adherence guardians

Blog – Staying positive in 2021 – a pharmacist’s view

Blog – Incentivising young people to take their asthma medication

 

2021 evaluation

Click to read the #AskAboutAsthma 2021 evaluation summary.

Improving the quality of life for children and young people living with asthma

Asthma is the most common long-term medical condition affecting children and young people. 1 in 11 children and young people are affected by the condition.

Poorly controlled asthma affects every aspect of children and young people’s lives – their ability to learn, enjoy time outside the school with friends or take part in sport. It affects their time with their families and how they sleep.

There are three very simple measures that if used consistently for all children and young people with asthma would have a massive impact on the quality of life for these children and young people.

  • The use of a written asthma action plan drawn up between a clinician and asthma sufferer means people are four times less likely to have to go to the hospital for their asthma.
  • Ensuring every child or young person (and their families/carers) understands how to use their inhaler effectively. Less than ¾ of children and young people have any form of instruction in how to use their inhalers meaning they may not be getting the full benefit of their asthma medication
  • An asthma review every year and after every attack will ensure those with asthma recognise their triggers and are able to manage their condition effectively.

Air pollution

Air pollution acts as a trigger for many children and young people with asthma, contributing to asthma admissions and intensive care admissions, and even asthma deaths.

To provide support for this, we have produced the NHS Organisations: Air pollution reduction toolkit. This describes simple and free changes NHS organisations can make to reduce their contribution to air pollution. For more information visit Air Quality

A surge of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) affecting babies and children under 3 years is anticipated during August and September. Please follow local guidelines on how to manage this condition.

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