Reduction of asthma burden is possible through National Asthma Plans

Despite increase in understanding of asthma patomechanisms the practical actions to lessen asthma burden in the communities are far behind of scientific knowledge. There are still reports of uderdiagnosis and poor treatment leading to repeated severe exacerbations, often demanding emergency care and hospitalisation, which cause most of the economic burden both for families and society. From the public health perspective, the key issue is to implement the best standards of care in every-day practice. The problems are different in high income compared to low- and middle-income countries, and the solutions have to be tailored to each country needs and resources. We present here examples from Finland, Poland and Brazil, to show that asthma burden can be reduced using varied strategies in quite different societal, economical and health care environments. The experience from those interventions confirms that regardless of the health care system and its coverage, a major change for the better can be achieved by local efforts, systematic planning and networking to implement the best asthma practice.