Government responds to National Strategic Action Plan for lung conditions with multi-million-dollar commitment

Significant Federal investment in Lung Foundation Australia’s National Strategic Action Plan for Lung Conditions a step in the right direction: We must build on this commitment to address the nation’s second leading cause of death

The Action Plan outlines where immediate intervention is desperately needed. Reducing occupational risk, embracing lung cancer screening, ensuring equitable access to treatment and services, increasing research funding, and increasing efforts to tackle stigma could transform lives.

While the government’s multi-million-dollar funding injection in the Action Plan will make inroads, the unmet needs remain sizeable. Concerted, continued funding will be necessary to truly transform the care, support, and treatment afforded to Australians living with lung conditions.

Investment to improve the lives of Aussies living with lung conditions has long been subpar. Seven million Australians currently live with a lung condition, which account for 10% of the nation’s total health burden – yet with only a fraction of the funding needed.

Thursday, 21 February 2019, Canberra: Today, at the launch of Lung Foundation Australia’s (LFA) National Strategic Action Plan (NSAP) for Lung Conditions in Parliament House, Canberra, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, Federal Minister for Health, has responded quickly by announcing a multi-million-dollar funding commitment to support the Action Plan.

The NSAP provides a detailed roadmap for government and the healthcare sector to address the burden of lung disease, including lung cancer, COPD, bronchiectasis, and asthma. Lung diseases are, collectively, amongst the most urgent and underfunded chronic conditions facing seven million – or almost one in three – Australians. The NSAP focuses on major gaps in care, where urgent interventions are necessary and can have significant impact.

“We would like to thank and congratulate Minister Hunt for the significant funding commitment announced today, and for the show of force, by investing in lung conditions,” said Mark Brooke, Chief Executive Officer, LFA.

“Lung conditions affect every day Australians, and in sizeable numbers – and yet, historically, they have attracted only a fraction of Government funding needed to address prevention, gaps in care, and equitable access, empathy and support and vital research dollars.”

“Today’s announcement is a first step in the right direction – funding that will benefit millions of Australians. And while we appreciate the investment and the impact it will have, we must continue to champion the need for increased support for lung conditions to remind politicians, and all Australians, that lung conditions are devastating, and they need our utmost care, diligence, and focus in the weeks, months and years to come,” he continued.

Lung conditions are Australia’s second leading cause of death and account for more than 10 per cent of the total health burden.

Action Plan Priority Recommendations:

Reducing the occupational risk of lung disease:With a recent re-emergence of conditions including silicosis and coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, the NSAP tables recommendations to reduce occupational lung diseases, such as awareness and education programs for high risk industries, and a national register for occupational lung disease to map prevalence and trends.

Implementing a life-saving national lung cancer screening program: National and international data support the design of cost-effective lung cancer screening programs capable of detecting lung cancer at a stage when treatment would be potentially curative. The 20% reduction in lung cancer deaths reported in screening trials^[i] is larger than any new treatment for lung cancer to date.^[ii]

Improving access to treatment and care, to improve outcomes:The NSAP calls for better access to community-based support, such as pulmonary rehabilitation, specialist lung cancer nurses and supportive/palliative care, to complement and work in partnership with a patient’s overall medical management and care.

Increasing research funding for lung conditions:Lung conditions are our nation’s second leading cause of death^[iii], yet dedicated research into lung disease is grossly underfunded, with only 5.5% of Federal Government funding directed to lung research. The NSAP provides a roadmap for underfunded areas that need improvement in order to better outcomes.
Tackling stigma, discrimination and social isolation head on: Recent research indicates 50% of Australians living with lung cancer experience distress, anxiety or depression, making a key priority to reduce stigma, discrimination and social isolation associated with lung conditions. The NSAP recommends the Government fund a year-on-year stigma awareness campaigns, to tackle the issue.

Chair of Lung Foundation Australia, Professor Christine Jenkins AM, is confident the Plan will lead to genuine, and sustained improvement in patient outcomes.

“Lung conditions have a significant impact on people’s ability to enjoy life, be active and productive, and live to their full potential. People living with a lung condition, their families, the health care system and the broader community experience a significant health and economic burden from lung disease,” Professor Jenkins said.

“The recommendations outlined within the Plan should be supported by all levels of government, across all parties, and be implemented as a priority as a means of reducing the inequities far too many patients face.

“It is my hope that the Plan will help to redress the current inequity in the care and management of those living with lung diseases. Facts can change. Let this Action Plan be a catalyst for that change.”

LFA acknowledges that there are a number of priority populations which face a disproportionate burden of lung conditions, and, hence, greater disparities in health outcomes. The NSAP has a strong focus on these Australians, which include:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Bronchiectasis, a lung disease that occurs when the walls of the breathing tubes or airways are damaged due to chronic inflammation and/or infection, disproportionately affects Australian Indigenous children, a fact the Action Plan aims to address.

People living in regional, rural and remote areas: The Action Plan aims to address current disparities in lung health outcomes between those living in regional, rural and remote areas, and metropolitan areas.

Workers currently and previously exposed to occupational dusts, gases, fumes and vapours: Despite the re-emergence of silicosis and other occupational lung diseases, the Action Plan stresses these diseases can be prevented by identifying and removing occupational hazards. Occupational lung diseases have an enormous employment and productivity impact, hence the urgent need for greater workplace awareness and education.
People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds: The Action Plan recognises the need to develop culturally appropriate and safe tools, information and support services for those of a culturally and linguistically diverse background.

People experiencing socio-economic disadvantage: People with socio-economic disadvantage are disproportionately affected by occupational and environmental determinants of respiratory ill health and are less able to access appropriate care.

National Strategic Action Plan for Lung Conditions – at a glance

The NSAP, informed by a National consultation, outlines a comprehensive, collaborative, and evidence-based approach to reducing the individual and societal burden of lung conditions, and improving lung health. Within the Action Plan each priority, outlined below, has a number of recommended actions informed by evidence. To read the full Action Plan, click here.

Goal: To improve the lives of all Australians through better lung health

Prevention and risk reduction
Prevent lung conditions and reduce the risk of lung disease.
Awareness and stigma
Raise awareness about lung conditions and reduce stigma, discrimination and social isolation.
Diagnosis, Management and Care
Translate science into quality diagnosis, management and care of lung conditions.
Equitable Access
Ensure equitable and timely access to evidence-based diagnosis and management of lung conditions.
Research and Monitoring
Increase research capacity to redress under resourcing of research into highly prevalent lung conditions.

[i] ABERLE, D., ADAMS, A., BERG, C., BLACK, W., CLAPP, J., FAGERSTROM, R., GAREEN, I., GATSONIS, C., MARCUS, P. & SICKS, J et al. 2011. Reduced lung-cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomographic screening. New England Journal of Medicine, 365, 395-409.

[ii] BRIMS, F., MCWILLIAMS, A. & FONG, K. 2016. Lung Cancer screening in Australia: progress or procrastination. Medical Journal of Australia, 204, 4-5.

[iii] Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016, Australia’s leading causes of death, Available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/3303.0~2016~Main%20Features~Australia’s%20leading%20causes%20of%20death,%202016~3

For media enquiries please contact:

Mike Lane, LIFE Agency
0409 666 022
mike@oprlife.com.au

Angela Hahn, Senior Manager – Marketing and Communications
07 3251 3643
angelah@lungfoundation.com.au

[ii] BRIMS, F., MCWILLIAMS, A. & FONG, K. 2016. Lung Cancer screening in Australia: progress or procrastination. Medical Journal of Australia, 204, 4-5.