Funding programme: Healthy Futures

Asthma is a condition with intermittent symptoms and timely action is essential in preventing asthma attacks. Asthma advice needs to be simple to access and, as everyone’s experience is dierent, personalisation is key.

In 2017 a small grant from the Bupa UK Foundation enabled Asthma UK to pilot a new WhatsApp service which aimed to engage and support young adults in self-managing their condition. The pilot significantly exceeded expectations, delivering over 4,200 personalised interactions, against a target of 2,000 interactions.

The results of an online questionnaire indicated that, as the result of a WhatsApp conversation with a nurse, 93% of service users in the 18-25 age group felt better able to manage their asthma, 69% of service users in this group have improved confidence in managing their asthma symptoms and attacks, and 40% of service users in this group will change the way they manage their asthma.

Following the success of the pilot, Asthma UK has received a further grant from the Bupa UK Foundation to develop and extend the new service.