This briefing provides an overview of COPD, a common term for a group of conditions which affect the lungs and cause breathing difficulties (NHS, 2023a), covering areas such as causes, diagnosis and treatment. Alongside an introduction to the group of conditions, this briefing summarised available data on the prevalence of COPD, alongside rates of emergency hospital admissions and mortality. This briefing draws on data from the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities’ online public health data tool Fingertips, Primary Care Mortality Database and latest release of the Global Burden of Disease 2023.
The aim of this briefing is to support public health colleagues and the public to learn more about COPD and its burden across the county. By focusing specifically on COPD, this can help local authorities and integrated care boards, who are responsible for planning health services for their population, to promote population lifestyle programmes such as stop-smoking services, and work collaboratively with partners across the health and social care system to improve detection, treatment and management.
Alongside the briefing, an accompanying document of supporting figures and tables are also provided.