This study has two objectives:
1) To broaden and enhance the Ontario Asthma Surveillance Information System (OASIS) to include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); and,
2) To use sophisticated modelling techniques and OASIS data to monitor and forecast trends.
The enhanced surveillance data on asthma and COPD will:
· Lead to useful provincial and regional profiles of respiratory health;
· Allow comprehensive longitudinal characterization of patterns of health services utilization and outcomes of chronic respiratory conditions;
· Provide a means to study and quantify the magnitude and burden of co-existing diseases in individuals with chronic respiratory disease; and
· Allow investigators to monitor trends, evaluate interventions and identify changes in disease patterns and utilization.
