Ask your patients to ‘Check in with their lungs’

Lung Foundation Australia is urging all Australians to ‘check in’ with their lungs as a part of a new national awareness campaign.

Launching on March 2nd, the three-month ‘Check in with your lungs’ campaign prompts everyone to take the Lung Health Checklist and think about their lung health before issues arise.

Lung Foundation Australia’s Director, Marketing and Health Strategy, Heather Allan, said GPs and healthcare professionals play a vital role in the early diagnosis and referral of patients with suspected lung disease.

“With a mix of television advertising, interactive bus shelters, public activities and media stories, this is the first step towards making sure Australians recognise the importance of being in tune with their lungs,” Mrs Allan said.

“At least one in ten Australia has some form of lung disease however Lung Foundation Australia estimates the number to be significantly higher,” she said.

“By urging Australians to ‘check in’ with their lungs we are taking a light hearted approach to a serious issue – that is the importance of lung health and the need to recognise signs of poor lung health.

“Lung disease doesn’t discriminate – it affects men and women, young and old, smokers, ex-smokers and people who have never smoked.

“Most Australians believe they have no lung health issues and very few actually give lung health much thought.

“If they haven’t already completed the Lung Health Checklist, you can encourage your patients to take a couple of minutes to do the online lung health checklist at www.lunghealthchecklist.org.au.”

To support the campaign, Lung Foundation Australia has produced several supporting materials for healthcare professionals which can be downloaded from http://www.lungfoundation.com.au/professional-resources/

Other resources

For information on diagnosing lung cancer, please refer to ‘investigating symptoms of lung cancer: a guide for GPs’ available from www.canceraustralia.gov.au

For information on diagnosing COPD, please refer to the ‘COPD-X guidelines’ available from www.copdx.org.au/

For more information on diagnosing asthma, please refer to the ‘Asthma management Handbook’ available from http://www.nationalasthma.org.au/handbook

For advice on other lung conditions, please visit www.lungfoundation.com.au