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Asthma management – An update for the pharmacist 2025
MODULE 2, 2025
The number of people living with asthma is increasing in many countries, including South Africa. According to the 2022 Global Asthma Report, South Africa remains one of the countries with the highest prevalence of childhood asthma in Africa.
Surveys indicate that most people with asthma, even those in developed countries and despite the availability of effective medicines, do not receive optimal care and are therefore not well controlled. Asthma management guidelines are important in managing asthma optimally.- The South African Thoracic Society first published a guideline for the management of asthma in 1992, which has been revised several times. The latest update is the 2021 position statement for the management of asthma in adults and adolescents. An update on the management of paediatric asthma in children 6-11 years was published in 2022.
- The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) was established to increase awareness about asthma, to improve management of asthma, and to help prevent asthma. Every year GINA publishes a strategy report based on the latest medical evidence on asthma.
This module provides an update on asthma prevention and management and incorporates the latest recommendations from the 2024 GINA report. Since global asthma management guidelines need to be adapted to the situation in any specific country, this module also provides an update on the suggested management of asthma in South Africa in adults, adolescents and children 6 to 11 years of age.
For more information about this programme, contact Glynis or Gill at Insight Medicine Information at 011 706 6939 or email: cpdalphapharm@insightmed.co.za
