EFA brings to the EUROFEA Symposium EFA’s work contributing to better respiratory care in Europe: the upcoming ‘COPD standards of care – raising the bar’ report, the newly-launched AboutAsthma.org guide for asthma patients and carers and our joint #KeepBreathing campaign, addressing lung health in Europe.
On 17 April, EFA Director Susanna Palkonen participated in the European Forum for Research and Education in Allergy and Airways Diseases (EUFOREA) symposium at the European Parliament on ‘Raising the Bar in Respiratory Care’. Co-hosted by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Ms Dorien Rookmaker (ECR, NL), and Mr Mislav Kolakušić (Non-attached MEP, HR), the event participants discussed strategies for improvement of care for chronic respiratory diseases including prevention, improved knowledge of comorbidities, and improved communication and collaboration with all health care providers in order to achieve optimal patient outcomes.
The event was attended by key stakeholders in the respiratory field, such as the Global Alliance Against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD), the Belgian Respiratory Society, and the European Rhinologic Society, with participation in the discussions by both healthcare professionals and patients, together with the co-hosting MEPs.
The patients’ perspective on shortcomings of respiratory health (including the impact of patients’ daily lives including physical and mental health) was brought by one of EFA’s members, Longfonds who was represented by Mr Thijs Teeling, and Chair of EUFOREA’s Patient Advisory Board.
During her intervention, EFA Director Susanna Palkonen presented the patients’ perspective and EFA’s activities and projects contributing to better respiratory care in Europe. As such, EFA presented its work on the upcoming ‘COPD standards of care – raising the bar’ project which looks at the way standards for COPD patients have evolved in the last decade. EFA also presented the AboutAsthma.org online patient education resource for asthma patients and carers to improve health literacy about asthma. Moreover, in the context of the upcoming European elections, EFA presented the #KeepBreathing lung health campaign, an initiative of the European level respiratory patients and doctors as part of the work of the European Lung Health Group. We also connected with the host MEP, who received the Breathe Vision Policy Briefing.
The full recording of the event is available here.