SWEDEN

The Swedish Respiratory Coalition joined the IRC in 2024 and has since grown into a national multi-stakeholder platform comprising nine organisations, bringing together patient groups, clinical experts, researchers, and representatives from the national airway register.

Nearly one million people in Sweden live with asthma. Despite strong national guidelines, effective treatments, a national airway registry and a newly introduced national allergy strategy, many patients continue to live with uncontrolled asthma, leading to unnecessary suffering, reduced quality of life, more emergency visits and sick leave, and premature death. The challenge is not a lack of knowledge, but a gap between evidence and practice.

In primary care, where most patients are managed, limited time and training opportunities mean asthma is underprioritised and guideline implementation is inconsistent, resulting in missed opportunities for early identification and optimal management. Healthcare delivery across Sweden’s 21 regions further contributes to variation in access, quality, and local prioritisation.

The coalition’s goal is to improve asthma control by strengthening patient self-management and enhancing healthcare systems’ capacity to prevent, identify, and manage uncontrolled asthma. To achieve this, the coalition focuses on:

• Developing web-based patient education to improve self-management
• Driving advocacy to raise awareness and promote equitable, evidence-based asthma care
• Supporting healthcare professional training aligned with national guidelines
• Advancing research and use of data on uncontrolled asthma

The coalition’s work is supported by data from the Swedish National Airway Register and other national health data sources, providing a strong evidence base on disease burden, variation in care and unmet needs.

The coalition is currently focusing on building the evidence base and developing scalable solutions to improve asthma control in Sweden.

Key areas of work:

• Compiling a comprehensive overview of existing data and studies on asthma control in Sweden, including registry data and evidence on access to patient education
• Reviewing patient education programmes in Sweden and internationally to identify best practices, effectiveness and existing gaps
• Conducting a feasibility study for the development of a national web-based patient education programme
• Recruiting and engaging a patient panel to co-develop the programme and ensure it reflects patient needs and perspectives

Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association

Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association Research Fund

Swedish Society for Allergology 

Breathe Sweden

Swedish Asthma, Allergy and COPD Nurses Association

Swedish Pediatric Association’s Sub-Association for Allergy and Pulmonary Medicine

The Swedish National Airway Register 

Network for General Practitioners Interested in Asthma, Allergy and COPD

Center for Allergy Research at Karolinska Institutet