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Ask About Asthma 2023: widening our view

#AskAboutAsthma is back for 2023. Now in its seventh year, the campaign encourages simple changes to children and young people’s care that will make a big difference to how they experience their asthma.

The 2023 #AskAboutAsthma campaign will run from 11 – 17 September, ahead of the rise in asthma attacks in September when students go back to school after their summer holidays.

The campaign is run by the NHS England – London Babies, Children and Young People’s Transformation team and centres around four steps to help manage asthma:

 

  1. Get an asthma action plan in place

A written asthma action plan drawn up between a clinician and patient means people are four times less likely to have to go to hospital for their asthma.

  1. Understand how to use inhalers correctly

Fewer than three-quarters of children and young people have any form of instruction in how to use their inhaler. Poor inhaler technique means patients don’t get the full benefit of their asthma medication.

  1. Schedule an asthma review – every year and after every attack

An asthma review by an appropriately trained clinician after every attack helps to work out what went wrong. An annual review ensures effective management of the condition.

  1. Consider air quality and its impact on lung health

We want to ensure that every asthma conversation considers the impact of outdoor and indoor air pollution on children and young people’s asthma.

 

This year’s theme is “Widening our view” and is highlighting wider factors including air quality, housing, mould and vaping which affect all residents across north central London and particularly people with respiratory conditions including asthma.

“Widening our view” also helps us to raise the profile of asthma; reaching out to everyone who has asthma, their friends, families and the whole system that cares for them.

In north central London, teams from the NHS, public health, air quality and others have worked together to develop our whole-system asthma plan, to address and improve outcomes for children and young people with asthma.

Many of our hospitals may also be using the Clean Air Hospital Framework to develop their own clean air action plan.

For more information about the campaign and four steps to managing asthma, visit the 2023 #AskAboutAsthma page for more information and resources.

You can find out more about the impact of poor air quality on children and how we are working to improve our air quality in north central London on our Asthma and Air Quality page here.

More information about the national Ask About Asthma campaign is available on the national Ask About Asthma campaign page. You can also catch up on the 2022 campaign here.

 

Help for parents

Parents and carers can find a wide range of information, guidance and support to help manage asthma and prevent asthma attacks in children and young people on the national Ask About Asthma campaign page for parents and in the London asthma toolkit for parents.

How professionals can support the campaign

Professionals working in asthma care across the north central London integrated care system can support the Ask About Asthma campaign and its aims by:

  • Sharing and helping to raise awareness of the four key asthma asks
  • Taking part in the webinars and conference and other events during the week
  • Displaying the campaign poster (and easy read version where needed)
  • Sharing the campaign resources (shared daily on the national campaign page) and hashtag – #AskAboutAsthma – on your own channels
  • Following the ICS social channels and liking and sharing campaign posts (via X/twitter, Facebook and Instagram)
Blogs
Podcasts

All 2023 campaign podcasts can be accessed via the national campaign page during campaign week.

2022 campaign podcasts:

  • Reducing missed appointments – In this podcast, we hear from Cloe Smith, a children’s community asthma nurse working in Newham, who shares practical tips and learnings on reducing missed appointments – while always putting the child first. You can listen by clicking this link.
  • Setting up asthma-friendly schools – Sammy Ndlovu-Dawika – Paediatric respiratory nurse at Royal Free London talks about  setting up an asthma-friendly schools initiative, including potential challenges and tips to overcome them along the way. You can listen by clicking this link.
  • Moving on asthma – Moving on asthma – how to help your teen transition to adult services. With Nicki Barker and Moira Gibbons – Respiratory Research Team at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. You can listen by clicking this link.
  • The role of pharmacy across asthma care – With Raj Matharu (Chair of Pharmacy London), Darush Attar-Zadeh (Respiratory Pharmacist), Sukeshi Makhecha (Paediatric Respiratory Pharmacist at the Royal Brompton and Evelina London hospitals). You can listen by clicking this link.
  • MART therapy for asthma symptoms – What it is and how it works. With Louise Fleming – Paediatric Respiratory Consultant at the Royal Brompton Hospital and Imperial College. You can listen by clicking this link.
  • Ensuring every child and young person is treated by an appropriately trained clinician. With Oliver Anglin, NHS England – London and Jennifer Townshend, NHS England. You can listen by clicking this link.
Resources

Access Ask about Asthma resources on Transformation Partners in Health and Care website.

Videos

All 2023 campaign videos can be accessed via the national campaign page during campaign week

2022 campaign videos:

  • Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan – himself someone who is living with asthma – shows his support for the campaign with a short message. You can watch this video by clicking here.
  • Do you know when your inhaler is empty? By Prasad Nagakumar,  Paediatric Respiratory Consultant, Birmingham Children’s Hospital. You can watch this video by clicking here.
  • Why become an asthma champion? By Jo Massey and Jakki Sutherland of the Croydon at Home Asthma Team. You can watch this video by clicking here.
  • Living with asthma as a young person. By Robert Adoo Kissi-Debrah, young person and supporter. You can watch this video by clicking here.
  • Five tips on reducing exposure to indoor allergens. By Catherine Sutton, Founder of Airborne Allergy Action.  You can watch this video by clicking here.
  • Health inequalities – What should clinicians know about health inequalities in asthma. By Ian Sinha, Consultant Respiratory Paediatrician, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. You can watch this video by clicking here.
  • Digital health passport – How the Digital Health Passport can help with asthma management by Greg Burch, Joint CEO & Clinical Director, Tiny Medical Apps.You can watch this video by clicking here.
  • Primary care webinar recording – Leading paediatricians on annual reviews and inhaler checks, referrals to severe asthma services and diagnosing viral wheeze and asthma. You can watch this video by clicking here.
  • Vaping and asthma – How vaping affects your asthma. A short video featuring Seb Gray, General Paediatric Consultant, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. You can watch this video by clicking here.
  • Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health animation – Check out this animation created by young people to help children and young people to know what to expect when they go to hospital with an asthma attack. You can watch this video by clicking here.
  • Making of Preventable – The making of ‘Preventable’ – a short film about asthma created by teenagers for teenagers. By Wojtek Lubowiecki, Executive Producer of ‘Preventable’. You can watch this video by clicking here.
Further information