Improving the management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

TL;DRAbstract

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are among the top ten most common chronic diseases in Australia,1 causing significant social and economic burden on the patient, family and healthcare system. More than five million Australians are affected by asthma or COPD, and each year these diseases disrupt daily life and productivity of many individuals and contribute to thousands of deaths.2 Despite the availability of safe and effective respiratory medication, problems such as underdiagnosis, medication adherence issues and poor understanding of asthma and COPD, have led to the conditions being poorly managed in Australia.3,4 The work described in this thesis was directed at learning more about how asthma and COPD are managed in the community and steps that can be take to improve the management of these conditions. Community pharmacists assisted in the implementation of all of the projects described in this thesis. Community pharmacists are ideally placed in the healthcare

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