The purpose of this study was to make a comparison between national asthma recommendations with the Global Initiative for Asthma’s (GINA) asthma management and prevention approach. GINA and national asthma recommendations share the objective of improving asthma care by using the best evidence available from published data. This evidence-based strategy emerged from an original expert opinion perspective, but it has not always taken into account the whole range of asthma phenotypes. In a number of areas, GINA and national recommendations diverge. GINA evaluates available data on an annual basis and updates the core document and recommendations based on the most recent data in order to provide local, regional, and national guidelines and resources for knowledge mobilization. It is the responsibility of such organizations to develop and execute locally relevant guidelines.
Both GINA and national recommendations have advanced asthma treatment by bridging the gap between what is known and how asthma care is given, ideally in a more directed, customized manner. Furthermore, both GINA and national recommendations have contributed to the future direction of research for the benefit of children and their families.
