The Department of Non-Communicable Diseases(NCD), represented by the Non-Communicable Diseases Control Section at the Directorate General of Primary Health Care, in collaboration with (CIPLA) Company, organized today (Thursday) a workshop on the latest development in the management, diagnosis, and treatment of asthma in primary health care in Crowne Plaza Hotel.

The workshop aimed to update the knowledge of health workers in primary health care institutions on the treatment and control of asthma by following the approved global guidelines. It also aimed to train the health workers on how to manage asthma clinics, how to diagnose asthma cases, and how to use inhalers and their techniques in treating asthma.   

Dr. Shadha Al- Raisi, Director of the Non-Communicable Diseases Department at the Ministry of Health (MOH), gave an opening speech in which she highlighted that asthma is a common chronic disease worldwide and in Oman. As a result, MOH in collaboration with the Oman Respiratory Society established comprehensive asthma services at the primary healthcare level, equipped with a wide range of inhaled medications and trained healthcare teams to manage asthma in all age groups. There are (161) asthma clinics in primary health care (65% of the total primary care facilities). Al- Raisi pointed out that Integrating asthma management at the primary healthcare level aims to bring services closer to the community, which will help ensure better control of asthma and reduce the burden on hospitals and emergency services.

The prevalence of asthma varies from country to country. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISSAC) ranked the prevalence of asthma in Oman to be in the intermediate range, as it was reported that this rate is 7.3% among adults and 12.7% among children. In addition, 95% of both adults and children attending asthma clinics in primary health care in the Sultanate of Oman.

The workshop included theoretical lectures addressed several related issues such as how to distinguish in diagnosis between asthma and other diseases, updates on the diagnosis and treatment of acute exacerbation of asthma, and a practical session on the types of inhaler devices and their techniques in the treatment of asthma.

It is worth mentioning that the topics were presented by teams of chest consultants from India, DR. ARJUN KHANNA, Consultant, Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Galaxy Institute of Pulmonology, Galaxy Hospital, and Dr. S. Balamurugan, Director & Principal Investigator – Respiratory & Diabetic Clinical Trials at Chennai Chest & Diabetes Research Institute, Valasaravakkam, Chennai Professor & HOD, Department of Pulmonary, critical care & Sleep Medicine along with the participation of )50( physicians from primary care centers across Oman.