Asthma in New Zealand Survey Worse than we think it is...

The Foundation’s first ever survey of New Zealanders’ experiences of living with asthma has uncovered some concerning findings; including that more than half of those surveyed are living with poorly controlled asthma and many of these people were not receiving adequate care and support.

“This survey showed clearly for the first time, what we have been hearing anecdotally for years; many Kiwis are putting up with poorly controlled asthma and not getting the care they need. It is a real wake-up call,” says Foundation Chief Executive Letitia Harding.

Almost 500 people responded to the survey which was run over three weeks in late March to early April. The majority of respondents were adults living with asthma (81%), with the remaining 19% being parents responding on behalf of children with asthma.

The key findings to come out of the survey were:

Our asthma is worse than we think it is; 74% of those surveyed believed their asthma was either always or mostly under control, but answers to further questions revealed that only 18% of respondents had well-controlled asthma and 51% had poorly controlled asthma.

Asthma is getting in the way of our daily life: 34% of respondents said their asthma had stopped them participating in daily activities like sport, exercise, work, school or socialising, while 26% reported that asthma significantly reduced their quality of life.

Over a quarter of respondents had never had an asthma review; asthma reviews are recommended annually, or more often if symptoms are worsening. Our survey found 26% of respondents had never had an asthma review.

Kiwis with poorly controlled asthma may not be receiving the care they need: 73% of respondents with poorly controlled asthma had not had their inhaler technique checked at their last appointment, 52% either did not have or did not know about asthma action plans, and 35% had not received an asthma review in the last 12 months.

Many asthma check-ups may be inadequate: our survey found that many respondents are not being asked basic management questions about their asthma symptoms or inhaler usage during asthma check-ups. 16% of respondents reported they were asked no management questions at their last asthma check-up.

Kiwis with asthma are concerned about access and costs associated with asthma: 55% of respondents were concerned about being able to get an appointment with a healthcare practitioner when needed, while 39% were worried about the costs of managing asthma (appointments and prescription costs). 12% had no current concerns about their asthma.

As a result of these findings, the Foundation is calling for some urgent action from Government.

We want the Government to:

1. Implement a National Respiratory Clinical Network to provide a co-ordinated approach to respiratory care, improve standards and access to care.

2. Provide funding to healthcare practitioners so they can provide annual asthma ‘Warrant of Fitness’ checks for all people diagnosed with asthma. We want these checks to include an asthma control test, peak flow measurements, inhaler technique checks and update to asthma action plans.

3. Fund training of all healthcare professionals working with respiratory patients in New Zealand on the latest asthma guidelines, so our workforce is up-to-date with recommended best practice treatment.

4. Make spacers freely available to all pharmacies and asthma societies.

5. Fund a survey to investigate the lived experience of asthma of New Zealanders we know have the greatest burden of asthma: Māori, Pacific peoples and people living in areas of deprivation.

6. Ensure that asthma is ‘red-flagged’ in GP patient management systems as a chronic long-term condition, so that regular reviews occur.

Read the full survey report at : www.asthmafoundation.org.nz/assets/documents/ ARFNZ-asthma-in-NZ-survey-2023-Final.pdf