Asthma control and medication use, a nationally representative web-based survey in 2012

A 2012 survey of nearly 2,700 Australians aged 16 years and older with current asthma found:
– Asthma was not well-controlled in 45% of people with current asthma. 34% of these people did not use any preventer, and 23% used it less than 5 days/week.
– Nearly 40% only used a blue reliever puffer, treating their symptoms but not the cause. 1 in 4 of these people needed urgent treatment for their condition in the previous year.
– Only half (50.5%) of the participants saw their general practitioner for a non-urgent asthma review during the previous year
– 29% of participants needed urgent health care (GP or emergency department) for their asthma during the previous year
– preventer adherence was poor: overall, 43% of preventer medication users reported taking it less than 5 days a week, and 31% used it less than weekly.