COPD QRG Prevention and Awareness

Primary Care Respiratory Society UK (PCRS-UK)

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Introduction

Prevention & awareness

Identification & diagnosis

Chronic care

Acute care

Self care

End-of-Life care

Asthma

Implementing the strategy

Prevention and Awareness Resources

COPD National Strategy Slide Kit (members only)

Consultation on a strategy for COPD (Feb 2010)

PCRS-UK COPD National Strategy Resources

PCRJ COPD National Strategy Supplement

PCRS-UK Guidance on the Diagnosis and Management of COPD

GOLD COPD Guidance

NICE COPD Guidance

Conditions of Use

Back to COPD Quick Reference Guide

COPD National Strategy Quick Reference Guide
Prevention and Awareness

Recommendation 2: The importance of lung health should be understood and people should take appropriate action to maintain good lung health.

Recommendation 3: The consequences of exposure to the main risk factors of COPD should be understood and people with early symptoms of lung disease need to be able to recognise their symptoms and seek further investigation.

Recommendation 4: Further evaluation work should be undertaken on the impact of the use of lung age tests on individuals’ motivation for smoking cessation and testing for lung disease as a case-finding approach.

Recommendation 6: Healthcare professionals should understand the risk factors for COPD and offer advice or an appropriate intervention to those who are at risk.

Raising awareness of COPD, and encouraging healthy lung behaviour (see figure 1 ‘Individual life journey’)

Adopting healthy lung behaviours, especially avoiding cigarette smoke, could prevent COPD
Recognising and responding to early symptoms could prevent progression of the disease
The concept of ‘lung age’ maybe helpful for communicating the risks.
Target populations for lung health information include pregnant mothers and parents of young children, children aged 7-12years, lowest social groups (routine and manual workers) and minority ethnic groups (especially Bangladeshi men)

Risk factors for developing COPD

Smoking: including smoking in pregnancy, passive smoking and/or smoking in childhood
Health events in childhood: including low birth weight, severe viral and other infections in infancy, childhood deprivation, poor nutrition including obesity
Environmental factors: including occupation, social deprivation
Genetic susceptibility: including alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency

Further resources

Author: Dr Hilary Pinnock, University of Edinburgh, and Whitstable Medical Practice, Kent | Editor: Dr Mark Levy, Kingsbury, London

This COPD National Strategy Quick Reference Guide is provided to you by the Primary Care Respiratory Society UK (PCRS-UK)
and is an interpretation of the document Consultation on a Strategy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in England (February 2010) written by the Department of Health.
This Quick Reference Guide has been supported by an educational grant from Allen & Hanburys,
the specialist respiratory division of GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca UK Ltd and Boehringer Ingelheim Ltd/Pfizer Ltd.
The views expressed in the materials are not necessarily those of either the Department of Health, the sponsors or the Primary Care Respiratory Society UK (PCRS-UK). © PCRS-UK

Download slide resource set | PCRS-UK Home | COPD Strategy Resources