Ss61-03 the International Survey of Work-Related Asthma (Wra) Medical Screening and Surveillance Through a Collaborative Network

Introduction Information on questionnaires for screening and surveillance of work-related asthma (WRA) is not widely available. The study aim was to collate commonly used questionnaires and identify the various components. Materials and Methods A survey was conducted among members belonging to several international and national occupational medicine, respiratory and allergology societies. Respondents were invited to complete a digital survey and provide the questionnaire used to evaluate workers with suspected WRA. Various components of the questionnaires were evaluated further. Results Respondents were widely distributed, emanating from Europe (36%), Africa (36%), North America (19%) and South America (9%). A total of 28 questionnaires were collated, of which six were excluded due to the absence of WRA questions. Among the 22 questionnaires evaluated in detail, the main context for use were epidemiological surveys (41%), medical screening (32%) and clinical purposes (27%). Most questionnaires contained questions on general asthma (82%) and occupational allergic asthma (91%), whereas only 18% focused on irritant-induced asthma. Additional questions focused on occupational conjunctivitis (64%), occupational rhinitis (59%) and contact urticaria (23%). A large proportion (73%) of questionnaires were not industry- or exposure-specific, but 73% included questions on onset of symptoms related to commencing employment, 82% on asthma improvement away from work and 91% on asthma worsening at work. Conclusions Several different questionnaires are used for screening and surveillance of WRA globally. There is a need for a generally accepted validated questionnaire that could be used for comparison of WRA prevalence across various geographic and exposure settings.