Conclusions
Practice nurses have a crucial role to play in educating people with asthma when it comes to triggers and factors that increase the risk of death. There is clear evidence from NRAD that avoidable factors, like smoking, were found in 65% of people who died, so asthma reviews are a great opportunity to explain the risks involved and signpost patients to smoking cessation resources. It is also important to look at the patient as a whole, and identify other risks that may have an impact on their airways, such as rhinitis or hay fever. Given that 1 in 11 people have asthma in the UK, practice nurses can really help their patients to understand their condition, and it is often the simplest of things that can make all the difference.