RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Burden of asthma on resource and productivity in 6 European countries
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP P3816
VO 44
IS Suppl 58
A1 Monica Fletcher
A1 William Dunlop
A1 Ashok Jha
A1 Louise Heron
A1 Thys Van der Molen
A1 David Price
YR 2014
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P3816.abstract
AB Aims and objectivesAsthma affects 30 million people in Western Europe, leading to substantial burden on healthcare systems and economies. The REALISE™ survey was a large European survey across 11 countries assessing patient attitudes and behaviours towards their asthma. The objective was to understand the burden of asthma, examining resource use and absenteeism.MethodsData were collected on absenteeism and healthcare resource use from 5,913 asthma patients (18–50 years) across the selected countries for this analysis (UK, France [FR], Germany [DE], Italy [IT], Spain [ES], Netherlands [NL] - countries with patient sample size >850).ResultsAsthma control status and patient variables were similar across countries. Over 25% of UK patients reported nurses as their main asthma healthcare professional (HCP), few reported specialist visits; however other countries reported a high number of specialist consultations. Across countries, the mean annual number of HCP visits per patient was: FR: 3.31; DE: 3.63; IT: 4.25; NL: 2.21; ES: 3.00; UK: 2.32.Netherlands reported the lowest use across all resources (hospitalisation, emergency admissions, HCP visits) and is the reference country in country comparisons (using odds ratios [OR]).View this table:Overview of resource use by country (measured by OR)ConclusionDespite similar patient variables across countries, differences exist in resource utilisation, particularly in primary care and specialist use, suggesting a possible difference in healthcare delivery across countries.Funded by Mundipharma International Ltd.