ASTHMA
Definition
This topic refers to persons ever told by a doctor or nurse that they have asthma, and whose asthma is current. Whether a person's asthma is current or not was determined by whether they had had any symptoms of asthma or taken treatment for asthma in the last 12 months.
Population
Information was obtained for all persons in the 2014-15 NHS.
Methodology
Information about asthma was first published in the National Health Survey: First Results, 2014-15 based on a sample of 19,259 people. Additional information relating to actions and medications taken for asthma was also published in Health Service Usage and Health related Actions, Australia, 2014-15.
All respondents were asked whether they had ever been told by a doctor or nurse that they have asthma, and if so, whether symptoms were present, whether they had taken treatment in the last 12 months, and whether they still get asthma. Respondents who identified they had recent symptoms or treatment or still get asthma were asked:
- whether their asthma had been worse or out of control in the last 12 months and the number of times they had gone to a hospital or emergency department as a result
- whether they had a written asthma action plan
- whether they had been woken by asthma or wheezing in the last 4 weeks
- how often their asthma had interfered with daily activities in the last 4 weeks.
Respondents who reported having asthma were then sequenced to the
Actions module in which they were asked questions about whether, and how many times, they had seen a GP, specialist, etc. in the last 2 weeks and last 12 months for their asthma.
Respondents were asked in a later module about all medications and health supplements they were taking, but not in relation to any specific condition. If the respondent reported taking asthma medication, they were then asked how often they had taken it in the last 2 weeks.
Data items
The data items and related output categories for this topic are available in Excel spreadsheet format from the
Downloads page of this product.
Interpretation
Points to be considered in interpreting this topic include:
- In the 2014 -15 NHS estimates were based on persons who reported having been told by a doctor or nurse they had asthma, however, estimates may not agree with data from other sources using different approaches to the identification of asthma.
- If a person considered their asthma to be current but had not had recent symptoms or treatment, they are considered to not have current asthma (conditions status 3: ever told has condition, not current). If a person considered their asthma to not be current but had had symptoms or treatment, they are considered to have current asthma (condition status 1: ever told has condition, still current and long-term).
Comparability with 2011-12
Asthma data are considered directly comparable between the 2011-12 and 2014-15 NHS.
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