The annual World Asthma Day will take place on 2 May this year to improve awareness and management of asthma around the world.
The recently released Impact of Respiratory Disease in New Zealand: 2016 Update, commissioned by the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ, reported that asthma is the cause of 63 deaths on average each year.
In 2015, asthma was the cause of 7446 overnight hospitalizations.
“The statistics in New Zealand are absolutely shocking,” says John Knight, Chairman of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ.
In a bid to provide an easily accessible tool for asthma management and reduce these numbers, the Foundation is pleased to announce the ‘My Asthma’ smartphone app available next week.
The app contains steps to assist someone having an asthma attack, which the Foundation urges all Kiwis to have on-hand.
The app also contains an electronic Asthma Action Plan and asthma information.
“Everyone with asthma should have an Asthma Action Plan,” says Knight. “The plan helps you to recognise when asthma symptoms worsen and what actions to take.”
The free ‘My Asthma’ app will be available to download in Google Play or Apple App Store next week.
