Objectives: (1) To measure the extent of use of preventer medications (ie, inhaled corticosteroids or cromones) and possession of written asthma management plans (AMPs) among people with asthma in New South Wales in 1997. (2) To assess factors associated with underuse of preventer medications and AMPs.
Design and setting: A cross-sectional survey by computer-assisted telephone interviews of a stratified random sample of the adult population of New South Wales, Australia.
Participants: People aged 16 to 54 years with asthma diagnosed by a doctor and causing symptoms or requiring treatment in the preceding year (n = 1,372).
Results: Although 55.2% of survey participants had used preventer medications in the preceding year, only 27.8% had used them regularly. Only 34.7% had a written AMP. Preventer medications were judged to be indicated for 54% of the study population, but only 42.5% of this group had used them regularly (43.1% had a written AMP). Younger adults were less likely to use preventer medications regularly, but there was no difference in use of preventer medications by sex, urban/rural residence, or manner of purchasing reliever medications (either on prescription or "over the counter"). Past smokers used preventers more commonly than current smokers, with never smokers having an intermediate prevalence of regular preventer use. Age, sex, urban/rural residence, and manner of purchasing reliever medications were not related to the possession of an AMP.
Conclusion: Despite the trend towards increased use of preventer medications and written AMPs during the 1990s, undertreated asthma remains a major public health problem in Australia.