Allergic rhinitis ('hay fever') in Australia
Hay fever is a term commonly used to refer to allergic rhinitis caused by seasonal exposure to pollen. Allergic rhinitis can cause significant irritation and interference in a sufferer's daily activities, considerably reducing their quality of life. It is one of the most common chronic respiratory conditions in Australia, affecting around 15% of Australians or 3.1 million people. The amount of money paid by community pharmacies to wholesalers for medications commonly used to treat allergic rhinitis doubled between 2001 ($107.8 million) and 2010 ($226.8 million).
Asthma in Australia 2011: with a focus chapter on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Asthma is an important health problem in Australia. This report brings together data from a wide range of sources to describe the current status of asthma in Australia. It includes information on the number of people who have asthma and who visit their general practitioner, are hospitalised or die due to asthma. Time trends and profiles of people who receive various treatments for asthma are also presented, along with information on those who have written asthma action plans. In addition, comorbidities and quality of life among people with asthma are also investigated. This report also includes a chapter that focuses on chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases in Australians aged 55 years and over.
Time trends and geographical variation in re-admissions for asthma in Australia
Re-admissions for asthma can be considered an indicator of health system performance in relation to the management of patients with asthma. This bulletin examines the overall rate of re-admissions for asthmas in Australian and investigates time trends in re-admissions for asthmas as well as differences according to age, sex, socioeconomic status and remoteness of residence.
The health of Australia's prisoners 2009
The health of Australia's prisoners 2009 is the culmination of several years' development of national indicators in relation to prisoner health in Australia. This first national report shows that prisoners in Australia have poor health compared to the general community. A week-long snapshot of prison entrants in Australia during 2009 showed: 25% had a chronic condition (such as asthma, cardiovascular disease or diabetes); 81% were current smokers; 52% consumed alcohol at risky levels; and 71% had used illicit drugs during the previous 12 months; 37% of prison entrants reported having received a mental health diagnosis at some time, 43% had received a head injury resulting in a loss of consciousness, and 31% had been referred to prison mental health services. The report also contains data relating to communicable diseases, educational attainment, deaths in custody, the use of health services and the types of medications used by prisoners.
Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory diseases in Australia
In 2004-05, Australia spent $3.3 billion directly on the management of respiratory conditions. In 2007-08, general practitioners managed respiratory problems more than any other condition and in 2006 conditions of the respiratory system were the third most common underlying causes of death. This report presents the epidemiology of each of the main respiratory conditions and highlights their differences and similarities. The conditions addressed include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, allergic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, influenza, pneumonia, bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, pneumoconiosis and sleep apnoea.
Asthma among older people in Australia
Over 92% of the 402 asthma deaths in 2006 were among people aged 45 years and over. Asthma in older Australians is distinct in many ways. The presence of comorbid conditions makes the management of asthma in older people more complex. The disease itself is also more persistent and severe than in the younger ages.
Monitoring the impact of air pollution on asthma in Australia: a methods paper
Air pollution can trigger asthma and, in severe cases, has been associated with hospitalisation and death. How much of a problem is air pollution though? What proportion of asthma exacerbations are due to air pollution each year? How much does this vary with extreme events such as bushfires and dust storms? This paper discusses the challenges associated with this type of monitoring, outlines the work that has so far been done in Australia in this area and presents a method for estimating the contribution of air pollution to asthma hospitalisations. The method has been applied to a particular case study 'Melbourne in 2006' to test its potential usefulness.
Asthma in Australian children: findings from Growing Up in Australia, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children
Within the first 3 years of life, 16.9% of infants experience asthma or wheeze. Among non-asthmatic children aged 4 to 5 years, 4.1% will develop asthma by the seventh year of life. These and other new insights into the incidence, natural progression and outcomes associated with childhood asthma are presented in this report, based on analysis of Growing up in Australia: the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.
Burden of disease due to asthma in Australia 2003
In 2003 asthma was the leading cause of burden of disease in Australian children, contributing 17.4% of total DALYs and the eleventh-leading contributor to the overall burden of disease in Australia, accounting for 2.4% of the total number of DALYs. Asthma also contributed a substantial proportion to the Indigenous health gap in the burden of non-communicable conditions. It is predicted that asthma will continue to rank as one of the major causes of disease burden in Australia for the next 2 decades, particularly among females.
Refining national asthma indicators: Delphi survey and correlation analysis
This report is the result of a systematic review undertaken by the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring (ACAM) to refine and simplify asthma monitoring in Australia. A Delphi survey and correlation analysis were used to review the currently recommended list of 24 national asthma indicators in order to identify a smaller set of core indicators, which provide the most important and relevant information and which are more effective at signalling change for future asthma monitoring activities.
General practice in Australia, health priorities and policies 1998 to 2008
This report looks extensively at changes in the activities of GPs from 1998 to 2008 in the light of numerous government initiatives and changes in the GP workforce and in the population. It shows that GP activity generally correlates well with health policy initiatives and clinical guidelines, notably with Type 2 diabetes and the control of asthma and high blood cholesterol levels. In some areas, however, there is less evidence of an effect so far. The report also raises some potential concerns about the costs from the continued rapid growth in orders for pathology testing and the overall challenge for the GP workforce in dealing with an ageing population with complex needs. Edited by Britt H and Miller GC.
Asthma in Australia 2008
Asthma is an important health problem in Australia. This report brings together data from a wide range of sources to describe the current status of asthma in Australia. It includes information on the number of people who have asthma and who visit their GP, are hospitalised or die due to asthma. Time trends and profiles of people who receive various treatments for asthma are also presented, along with information on those who have written asthma action plans. In addition, comorbidities and quality of life among people with asthma are investigated. This report also includes a chapter that focuses on asthma among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
Occupational asthma in Australia
This bulletin includes a discussion of the monitoring and surveillance of the disease and its risk factors.
Statistical methods for monitoring asthma
This statistical procedure manual documents and shares the experience of the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring (ACAM) in analysing national asthma-specific population data. Since its formation in 2002, ACAM have undertaken extensive analyses of a wide range of administrative and population health data to monitor asthma in Australia. In this manual, the approaches developed by ACAM for interrogating large population datasets from the point of receipt until delivery of final analyses are documented. It is anticipated that the principles applied in relation to interrogating data for asthma monitoring purposes will also be applicable to other chronic disease areas.
Australian asthma indicators: five-year review of asthma monitoring in Australia
In 2004, the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring reviewed the proposal indicators for monitoring asthma in Australia and published a set of recommended indicators. An accompanying data development plan was published in 2005. This report reviews the outcomes of the indicator review, the lessons learnt through experience with various data sources, progress so far with asthma data development and where national asthma monitoring might go in the future.
Survey questions for monitoring national asthma indicators
This report provides a recommended module of survey questions that can be used to monitor national asthma indicators. This is to assist those who are conducting surveys to select reliable questions that can be used to collect key information about asthma such as prevalence, management issues, level of disease control and impacts of the disease on the health system and individuals.
Patterns of asthma medication use in Australia
Drug therapy is the cornerstone of treatment for controlling asthma and preventing and relieving attacks. This report describes the first study to use national data from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to investigate the patterns of asthma medication use in Australia. It examines the effects of sociodemographic characteristics on the frequency of use of these medications, the potency of prescribed medications and the relationships between different classes of asthma medications. The methods used in this study are likely to be applicable to researchers investigating medication use for other conditions and diseases. The results will also be of interest to clinicians and policy makers in asthma.
.jpg)
Asthma in Australia: findings from the 2004-05 National Health Survey
This report presents asthma results from the 2004-05 National Health Survey. The National Health Survey is conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics every three years and currently provides the only nation-wide source of self-reported experiences with asthma including prevalence, management, quality of life and health-related behaviours. This report makes comparisons between people with and without asthma, investigates the effect of social and demographic characteristics and compares the findings from this, most recent, survey with those the previous National Health Survey conducted in 2001. It will be of value to all those interested in having updated information on the status of asthma in Australia, such as those involved in asthma care and government policy makers.
Statistical snapshots of people with asthma in Australia 2001
This report identifies the demographics and health-related characteristics that define people with asthma and that distinguish them from those who have never had asthma. It highlights the overall burden experienced by people with asthma, including the presence of other diseases, the use of medications and other health services, and effects on quality of life.
Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among older people in Australia: deaths and hospitalisations
Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can together be described as obstructive lung disease. This report examines recent data on deaths and hospitalisations among people aged 55 years and over when asthma or COPD are recorded as one of multiple causes of death or hospital diagnoses. The aim is to describe the extent of obstructive lung disease among older Australians, to assess the possibility of misclassification between asthma and COPD and to investigate the association between these diseases and other conditions.
Rural, regional and remote health: mortality trends 1992-2003
This report compares changes in mortality in Australia's major cities, regional and remote areas in the period 1992-2003. Trends for Australia's broad geographic regions are compared for a range of specific causes of death including coronary heart disease, lung cancer, cervical cancer, asthma, suicide, motor vehicle traffic accidents, diabetes and many others.
General practice activity in Australia 2004-05
This publication is the 18th in the General Practice Series produced by the Australian General Practice Statistics and Classification Centre, a Collaborating Unit of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the University of Sydney. It reports the results of the seventh year of the BEACH program, April 2004 to March 2005. Data reported by 953 general practitioners on 95,300 GP-patient encounters are used to describe aspects of general practice in Australia: the general practitioners and their patients; the problems managed and the treatments provided. Information is also reported on body weight to height ratio, smoking status and alcohol use of a subsample of patients. Changes that have occurred since 1998-99 are investigated. Aspects of the management of psychological problems, asthma, arthritis, lipid disorders and injuries are examined in greater detail. Data for each of the last five years of BEACH are summarised in the appendices to this report.
Selected chronic diseases among Australia's children
This bulletin presents information on the incidence, prevalence and trends for three of the major chronic diseases among children-asthma, diabetes and cancer. In addition, information about problems managed by general practitioners is presented, as well as a summary of hospitalisations and deaths for a wider range of childhood chronic diseases including cerebral palsy, epilepsy and cystic fibrosis.
Chronic respiratory diseases in Australia: their prevalence, consequences and prevention
Chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and emphysema, are very prevalent in Australia. They disrupt the daily life and productivity of many individuals and lead to thousands of deaths each year. Many of these diseases are largely preventable and manageable.This report brings together data from a variety of sources to highlight the prevalence and impact of chronic respiratory diseases in Australia. The information included in this report will be relevant to policy makers, the broader community and anyone with an interest in the respiratory diseases.
Asthma in Australia 2005
Asthma is an important health problem in Australia. This report brings together data from a wide range of sources to describe the current status of Asthma in Australia. It includes information on the number of people who have asthma, who receive various treatments for asthma, who have written asthma action plans, and who visit their GP, are hospitalised or die due to asthma. Health care expenditure for asthma is also discussed. In addition, a chapter has been included in this report that focuses on asthma in Australian children.