Abstract
Spirometry is an important tool in the surveillance, epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of respiratory disease, yet its accessibility is currently limited in Africa where the burden of respiratory diseases is amongst the highest globally. The reasons for limited access to spirometry in Africa include poor access to training and skilled technicians, limited availability of equipment, consumables, and technical support, and lack of human and financial resources. The Pan African Thoracic Society, working together with regional African thoracic societies and key research initiatives in Africa, have made progress in training and education, but a lot of work is still needed to meet the challenges faced. Accurately defining these challenges of access to high quality spirometry, development of local, standardised, and context-specific training and quality assurance tools; development of appropriate reference standards and innovative approaches to addressing the challenges of access to equipment, consumables and technical support are needed. Training and research collaborations that include regional thoracic societies, health system leaders, the Pan African Thoracic Society and international role players in the field are key to maximising available intellectual and financial resources. Hence ensuring that access to high quality spirometry measures that are used effectively in tackling the burden of respiratory disease in Africa.
Highlights
Spirometry is an objective tool for the diagnosis, severity assessment, management, risk factor categorization, and follow-up of patients with chronic lung disease
Despite its key role in optimizing respiratory health, access to spirometry is limited in many low–middle income countries (LMICs)
This is despite growing evidence of the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in LMICs, of which chronic respiratory disease (CRD) is a leading contributor
Summary
Spirometry is an objective tool for the diagnosis, severity assessment, management, risk factor categorization, and follow-up of patients with chronic lung disease. Despite its key role in optimizing respiratory health, access to spirometry is limited in many low–middle income countries (LMICs). In LMICs often the challenge with delivery of healthcare is that services are skewed to treating of acute episodes and not for chronic disease prevention, management, and follow-up. This is despite growing evidence of the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in LMICs, of which chronic respiratory disease (CRD) is a leading contributor. This article aims to describe the current challenges in access to spirometry in many African countries, present some of the work that is currently being done by the Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS) to improve access and to identify important areas for further research and action
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