Webinar Details

The webinar Paediatric Asthma Care Masterclass: practical engagement strategies was held on 19 February 2025. 

This engaging masterclass on paediatric asthma care brought together a multidisciplinary panel to discuss practical engagement strategies and person-centered care. The discussion was rich with clinical pearls and practical insights, including multidisciplinary review of a case study and collaborative completion of an Asthma Action Plan. Major topics covered included: 

• The critical importance of building therapeutic relationships and understanding family circumstances to support treatment adherence. 

• Creative solutions for common challenges, from encouraging spacer use at school to addressing cost barriers. 

• Use of the Childhood-Asthma Control Test to structure consultations and assess control. 

• Breaking down barriers to effective self-management through understanding social, cultural and economic factor. 

• Practical resources for families to manage environmental triggers at home and approaches to allergic rhinitis management as part of asthma care 

Watch the recording to hear how different health professionals collaborate to support optimal outcomes, with real-world examples of tailoring management for diverse family circumstances. The tools mentioned by the panel are listed below to allow you to implement in your practice immediately. 

Please note, the opinions in this of the panel are provided based on their own expertise and experience and do not necessarily reflect those of Asthma Australia. Before prescribing and products mentioned during the discussion you should refer to the relevant Product Information available on the ARTG and review the latest version of the Australian Asthma Handbook. 

Recording

Jump ahead to a section of interest 

• Welcome and introductions 0:00:00 

• Presentation – It’s time to reassess the management of paediatric asthma 0:03:29 

• A multidisciplinary childhood asthma consult 0:10:09 

• Case study background and patient history 0:11:00 

• Symptom control assessment 0:29:00 

• Reliever use 0:35:11 

• Risk factors for exacerbation 0:49:12 

• Barriers to self-management 1:04:36 

• Asthma Action Plan 01:12:41

Read the transcript.

Download presentation: It’s time to reassess the management of paediatric asthma

If you have a question for the panel, please send it through to healthcare@asthma.org.au and we will connect you.

Panel Members

	Chris Pearce General Practitioner and Health Informatician, Victoria Dr Christopher Pearce has been a leader in health informatics for over 20 years. Trained in rural and remote medicine and general practice, he spent 13 years working in rural Victoria, where he helped drive the early adoption of GP desktop systems and develop distance education programs. Since 2000, he has continued as a practising clinician in emergency, anaesthetics and general practice in Melbourne.  In 2008, he completed a PhD on the impact of computers in medical consultations and has since written extensively on digital health. As Clinical Adviser (Research) at Outcome Health, he focuses on data management and quality assurance. He also advises national bodies on informatics policy and change management and played a key role in the early design of Australia’s national health record (myHR).  Dr Pearce holds academic positions at Monash, Melbourne and Macquarie universities and is a member of the Professional Advisory Council (PAC) at Asthma Australia.
	Tim Senior General Practitioner, Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation, New South Wales Dr Tim Senior lives and works on Dharawal Country. He has worked as a GP at the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service in South West Sydney for 20 years, and works in policy and education in First Nations Health.  He was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to visit “Deep End” practices serving deprived communities in the UK and Ireland and chairs the Poverty and Health Specific Interest Group at the RACGP. He served on the Asthma Australia Professional Advisory Committee and writes and teaches on issues across general practice and health care.
	Shivanthan Shanthikumar Paediatric Respiratory Specialist, RCH and Clinician-Scientist Fellow, MCRI, Victoria Dr Shivanthan Shanthikumar is a paediatric respiratory specialist at the Department of Respiratory Medicine at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) and a clinician-scientist in Respiratory Diseases at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI). He is the clinical lead of the complex asthma service at RCH and also leads a SaferCare Victoria project aimed at improving asthma care in Melbourne’s northwest.  Dr Shanthikumar has contributed to clinical practice guidelines for asthma management through the Paediatric Improvement Collaborative and HealthPathways. He was also an author of the Asthma Australia-commissioned Sustainable Asthma Care Roadmap.  His research covers inflammation profiling to identify new asthma endotypes, lung function analysis, quality of care assessment, health utilisation, and geospatial mapping of asthma prevalence. He serves on national and international asthma leadership committees.
	Gaylene Bassett Nurse Practitioner Paediatric Respiratory and Allergy, North West Regional Hospital, Tasmania Gaylene Basset is a Nurse Practitioner specialising in paediatric respiratory and allergy medicine. She has been delivering care to children and families across North West and West Coast Tasmania for over a decade, working alongside Dr Weber in King Island, Smithton and Aboriginal Health centres in Circular Head and Burnie.  She is committed to improving access to specialist respiratory and allergy care in regional communities, advocating for evidence-based best practice and equitable healthcare for vulnerable populations.
	Kirsty Porteous Asthma Educator, Asthma Australia, Queensland Kirsty Porteous is a registered nurse and midwife with experience across Australia and the Middle East. She has worked as a counsellor for children, women and parents, delivering parenting programs and support. With a passion for health education, she spent years in the women’s health sector, providing education and lifestyle programs through health promotion organisations.  For the past six years, Kirsty has been with Asthma Australia, dedicated to consumer education. She values collaboration and building strong relationships to support behaviour change. She enjoys those ‘penny drop’ moments when people gain the confidence to take control of their asthma and improve their quality of life.

Clinical Practice Tools

Patient Education

Healthy Homes https://asthma.org.au/triggers/knowing-your-triggers-and-how-to-avoid-them/  

• Guide for homeowners https://asthma.org.au/slug/healthy-homes-guide-homeowners/   

• Guide for renters https://asthma.org.au/slug/healthy-homes-guide-renters/  

• The real role of GP’s in support of people confronting gas hazards in homes – Dr Tim Senior https://asthma.org.au/blog/the-real-role-of-gps-in-support-of-people-confronting-gas-hazards-in-homes/  

• Household mould https://asthma.org.au/triggers/flooding-and-mould/   

• Air purifiers https://asthma.org.au/blog/air-purifiers-and-asthma/  

Asthma and allergy 

• Allergic rhinitis – tips, treatment options, and device technique for nasal sprays https://asthma.org.au/medicines-treatment/hay-fever/  

• Allergen minimisation FAQs – https://www.allergy.org.au/patients/allergy-treatments/allergen-minimisation  

• Thunderstorm asthma – patient resources including an animated explainer https://asthma.org.au/triggers/thunderstorm-asthma/  

Smoking, vaping 

• Quitline https://www.quit.org.au/  

• Asthma & smoking https://asthma.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AA2022_Asthma-Smoking-A4_v8_web.pdf  

Translated patient education resources – including Asthma Action Plans, general information about asthma, videos https://asthma.org.au/resources/translated-resources  

Schools program https://asthma.org.au/asthma-in-schools/  

References and Further Reading

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2023).  National Health Survey 2022: Asthma. www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/asthma/latest-release#management
2. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2024). Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024. Retrieved from www.aihw.gov.au/reports/burden-of-disease/australian-burden-of-disease-study-2024
3. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2024). Asthma. Retrieved from www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-respiratory-conditions/asthma
4. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2024) Principal diagnosis data cubes. Separation statistics by principle diagnosis, 2022-23. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/hospitals/principal-diagnosis-data-cubes.
5. Chen KY, et al. Modifiable factors associated with pediatric asthma readmissions: a multi-center linked cohort study. J Asthma. 2023 60(4), 708–717. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35748560/
6. Chen KY, et al. Primary health care utilization and hospital readmission in children with asthma: a multi-site linked data cohort study. J Asthma. 2023 60(8), 1584–1591. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36594684/
7. Homaira N, et al. Impact of integrated care coordination on pediatric asthma hospital presentations. Front Pediatr. 2022 10, 929819. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36210953/
8. Shanthikumar S, et al. The current state of pediatric asthma in Australia. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2024 59(6), 1829–1831. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38501321/

Asthma Australia Pty Ltd. It’s time to reassess the management of paediatric asthma. The Medical Republic 2025 Jan 28. Available from https://www.medicalrepublic.com.au/its-time-to-reassess-the-management-of-paediatric-asthma/113713