World Asthma Day: new roadmap provides blueprint to tackle asthma burden - ERS

A new roadmap has been published identifying key priority areas that need to be addressed to tackle the burden of asthma.

According to the document from the European Asthma Research and Innovation Partnership (EARIP), a unified approach to research is urgently needed to address the challenge of asthma in Europe and improve mortality and morbidity.

The report was published on 2 May in the European Respiratory Journal, to coincide with World Asthma Day.

EARIP, led by a consortium including the European Lung Foundation, carried out extensive literature reviews and a pan-European consultation to develop the recommendations.

Kjeld Hansen, a member of the EARIP consortium and co-author of the editorial, commented: “The roadmap is intended to inform researchers of the most effective ways to address the impact of asthma on the individual, healthcare systems, and national and European economies. We invite all researchers to consider the list of priorities when planning future research projects. We believe if all the research priority areas were funded and the 15 research questions addressed, asthma outcomes would be transformed and avoidable use of healthcare systems eradicated, resulting in significant financial savings.”

The report identifies 15 research priorities based on the overarching themes of:

primary care and public health
triggers and risk factors for asthma and exacerbations
personalised medicine
self-management and adherence

The editorial is published alongside a review paper from the EARIP consortium which looks at the unmet needs in our understanding asthma mechanisms, and an additional editorial on the opportunities for innovation in asthma in Europe.

There are also a number of new ERJ articles published on the topic of asthma to mark World Asthma Day.

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Read the Forum of International Respiratory Societies press release