Creating Collective Solutions

Helping to improve the quality of life for children with asthma

The Creating Collective Solutions (CCS) Project set out to tackle the issues or problems linked to asthma in children. The CCS research process has been selected as it brings together different disciplines to agree on areas for action and identify solutions.  The process provides an opportunity to better understand the barriers to progress.

Asthma Australia has engaged Griffith University to lead this process. The project will help identify where to focus and best invest resources, as well as identify the role other stakeholders should play. This will enable Asthma Australia to develop a plan to translate insights into action and create measurable change.

A key focus area and trigger question for the research was identified, which was: What can we do as a community to support children aged five to nine years living with asthma in NSW to live their best life?

Asthma Australia invited a broad range of stakeholders to suggest up to five strategies or activities in response to this question via a digital survey (closed). The suggestions will be collated and used to help co-design an action plan.

TACKLING ASTHMA IN KIDS

In the last 20 years progress on asthma has stagnated, with little change in the number of deaths and hospitalisations due to asthma. In fact, the prevalence of asthma in Australia is on the rise.  Many Australians are still grappling with the impacts of living with asthma where this should not be the case.

Childhood asthma is an important area of focus for Asthma Australia.  More than 460,000 children under 14 years old have asthma and represent half of all avoidable asthma hospitalisations in Australia. Children aged five to nine have been selected as the focus for this project because they have double the asthma burden of disease than those aged 10 to 14 years old.

We are not seeing enough change in outcomes and quality of life for children with asthma and we need to do things differently. It is vital to establish the right behaviours, reflexes, and resources early in the life of a child with asthma as it provides them the best chance of continuing strong health behaviours as they grow into independence.

FUNDED BY

The Creating Collective Solutions (CCS) Project received funding from the Australian Government and is conducted by Asthma Australia together with Social Marketing @ Griffith.