Grant: Foundation Grant

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the 3rd leading cause of death worldwide and affects 1 in 4 adults. Asthma affects about 1 in 3 and is the most common chronic disease of children. Previous studies have shown that women, people of some ethnic backgrounds, people with some comorbidities, immigrants, indigenous people and other groups are vulnerable to asthma and COPD and/or their poor health outcomes. COPD and asthma practice guidelines and health policy, however, are based on evidence obtained from studies that enrolled mostly white participants in controlled settings with little consideration of these factors. This is not sufficient for Canada's diverse, multicultural population where studies in diverse real world populations are needed to customize approaches for those most vulnerable to disease burden. The main objective of my program is to determine the best COPD and asthma care for affected Canadians of different sexes, ages and other backgrounds. My program will use big data from millions of Canadians containing information on age, sex, ethnic background, immigrant status and other patient characteristics as well as health behaviours (eg. smoking), medical information (eg, medications), lung function, air pollution and other factors to answer the question: What is the best way to prevent acute exacerbations of asthma and COPD in people of diverse backgrounds? Our will be translated into an online risk calculator whereby patients entering their characteristics can determine their own risk of asthma or COPD exacerbation, as well as receive customized, detailed education on how to reduce this risk. This tool will be expanded and adapted to provide clinicians, educators, program leaders and government aggregate information on the diverse populations they provide care or set policy for. Once we have perfected these methods for asthma and COPD, we plan to expand them to other respiratory diseases.