Professor Vibeke Backer, MD DMSci
Our mission is to champion action through evidence-based insights toward the best standard of care in severe asthma for all.
Globally, more than 334 million people live with asthma[1]. Of these, approximately 5-10% live with a severe form of the disease[2][3] that can cause life-threatening exacerbations and require emergency hospitalisation[4][5][6][7] alongside ever-present symptoms that can impair quality of life, sleep, daily activities, work, school, relationships, and mental health[3:1][4:1][5:1][8][9]. Despite this high burden, there remains a lack of understanding around severe asthma, which is not recognised as a healthcare priority in many countries.
The Severe Asthma Index is a first-of-its-kind, free-to-access, evidence-based tool that provides a holistic view of how different countries approach severe asthma care.
The Index includes findings from 29 OECD countries based on quantitative and qualitative markers – collected via public databases, ongoing conversations with an external independent Steering Committee and through outreach to country-level experts (i.e., government leadership and respiratory experts) – that show national approaches and gaps in the standard of severe asthma care and highlight areas that require action for improvement.
With data specific to each country, the Severe Asthma Index drives an active and informed discussion, motivates stakeholders to prioritise and support improvements in severe asthma care, and advocates for tailored national action plans that really address patients’ needs.
The Severe Asthma Index was independently developed by the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies and validated by a six-member independent Steering Committee of experts in the respiratory space, with financial support provided by Sanofi and Regeneron.
References
1 - O. Enilari, and S. Sinha, "The Global Impact of Asthma in Adult Populations", Ann Glob Health, vol 85(1), no. 2, 2019 ↩︎
2 - K.F. Chung, S.E. Wenzel, J.L. Brozek et al., “International ERS/ATS Guidelines on Definition, Evaluation and Treatment of Severe Asthma,” Eur Respir J, vol. 43, pp. 343-373, 2014. ↩︎
3 - A. von Bülow, M. Kriegbaum, V. Backer et al., “The prevalence of severe asthma and low asthma control among Danish adults,” J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract, vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 759-767, 2014. ↩︎ ↩︎
4 - D. Price, M. Fletcher and T. van der Molen, “Asthma Control and Management in 8,000 European Patients: the REcognise Asthma and Link to Symptoms and Experience (REALISE) Survey,” NPJ Prim Care Respir Med, vol. 24, pp. 1-10, 2014. ↩︎ ↩︎
5 - National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, “Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma,” US Department of Health and Human Services, 2007. ↩︎ ↩︎
6 - D. Jackson, A. Sykes, P. Malia et al., “Asthma exacerbations: Origin, effect, and prevention,” J Allergy Clin Immunol, vol. 128, no. 6, pp. 1165-1174, 2011. ↩︎
7 - B. Chastek, S. Korrer, S. Nagar et al., “Economic Burden of Illness Among Patients with Severe Asthma in a Managed Care Setting,” J Manag Care Spec Pharm, vol. 22, no. 7, pp. 848-861, 2016. ↩︎
8 - E. Juniper, G. Guyatt, P. Ferrie and et al., “Measuring Quality of Life in Asthma,” Am Rev Respir Dis, vol. 147, no. 3, pp. 832-838, 1993. ↩︎
9 - McDonald VM, Hiles SA, Godbout K, Harvey ES, Marks GB, Hew M, Peters M, Bardin PG, Reynolds PN, Upham JW, Baraket M. Treatable traits can be identified in a severe asthma registry and predict future exacerbations. Respirology. 2019 Jan;24(1):37-47 ↩︎
• Ensure the implementation of coherent, long-term strategies and guidelines for severe asthma
• Emphasise the role of prevention and early intervention in severe asthma care
• Implement standardised reporting protocols and improve access to severe asthma-related data
• Empower patients and educate the public about the impact of severe asthma
Provides a freely available base of knowledge that any public or private organisation, individual, or other kinds of respiratory stakeholder can utilise.
Supports advocacy and policy initiatives that improve access to severe asthma care.
Serves as a driving force to advocate for and foster the creation of national action plans for the best standard of care in severe asthma to address patients’ unmet needs.
The Severe Asthma Index was independently developed by the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies and is validated by a six-member external independent Steering Committee of experts in the respiratory and health policy spaces.
The Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies was founded as an independent, non-profit think tank in Denmark in 1969. Today the Institute is a truly global entity, working for and with public, private, and academic organisations around the world. The Institute is a global leader in applying futures studies methods to solve strategic challenges.
The Index has been validated by a six-member steering committee of independent respiratory and health policy experts, who have used their expertise to provide support, guidance, and oversight during development.
Sanofi and Regeneron commissioned the creation of the Severe Asthma Index, however the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies independently researched and subsequently developed all the insights and recommendations contained within the Index. Financial support was provided by Sanofi and Regeneron.
Professor Vibeke Backer, MD DMSci
Chief Respiratory Physician at Department of ENT and Centre for Physical Activity Research (CFAS), Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
Sir David Behan
Chair Health Education England, NHS, UK
Dr. Mark Levy
Board Member, GINA, UK
Mikaela Odemyr
Chair ELF Patient Advisory Committee; Chair Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association, Sweden
Susanna Palkonen
Director, EFA; EU
Prof. Dr. Arzu Yorgancıoğlu
Chair ERS Advocacy Council; GINA Board President; Chair of GINA Dissemination and Implementation Committee; Chair of the WHO GARD Executive Committee Turkey
The Severe Asthma Index provides evidence-based insights into the state of severe asthma care across 29 OECD countries, supporting advocacy and policy initiatives that aim to improve access to severe asthma care. It is, therefore, geared towards anyone who is eager to make a difference by advocating for and igniting change for those with severe asthma, including:
Patient advocacy groups, also known as patient support groups, are organisations that represent the interests and needs of people with specific health conditions or diseases.
A medical society is a professional organisation made up of physicians, researchers, and other healthcare professionals who share a common interest in a particular medical specialty or field.
Any individuals who publicly support a cause or policy.
A person who is qualified and allowed by regulatory bodies to provide a healthcare service to a patient and may also be associated with a specialty, e.g. respiratory diseases.
A media group is an organisation that operates one or more media outlets, such as television stations, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, and online media platforms and so can share information to a wider audience.
Any person, especially those who are not members of a particular organisation or who do not have a specific type of knowledge but who may have an interest in understanding the impact of severe asthma.