Your lungs play an important role in almost everything you do—from getting through your day and sleeping well to staying active and enjoying time with the people you care about. When you have a lung condition or are concerned about your lung health, finding trustworthy information and support can make it easier to understand your options and take the next step.
Lung health organizations across Canada help people learn more about respiratory health, prevent lung disease, navigate a diagnosis and find resources to support their health and well-being.
The Lung Health Foundation is one of Canada’s leading organizations dedicated to improving lung health through prevention, education, research, advocacy and support for people living with lung conditions and their families.
What do lung health organizations do?
Lung health organizations help Canadians find reliable information and practical resources about their lungs and respiratory health. They can support people at many different points in their journey—from learning about risk factors and preventing lung disease to living with a diagnosis and navigating treatment.
Depending on the organization and your needs, resources may include information about:
- Asthma and COPD
- Lung cancer
- Smoking and vaping
- Respiratory infections
- Air quality and environmental exposures
- Occupational lung health
- Children’s lung health
- Sleep and breathing
- Lung disease prevention and management
These organizations do not replace your healthcare provider. Instead, they can help you better understand your lung health, prepare questions for your healthcare team and find reliable information between appointments.
For someone newly diagnosed with COPD, for example, trusted resources may help explain symptoms, treatment options, inhaler use and ways to manage their condition. Someone concerned about wildfire smoke may be looking for information about air quality and how to reduce exposure. A parent may want to better understand asthma symptoms in their child.
How can a lung health organization help you?
Reliable lung health information should do more than provide facts. It should help you understand what those facts mean for your everyday life and what you can do next.
Lung health organizations may provide:
Education and reliable information
Clear, evidence-based information can help you understand lung conditions, symptoms, risk factors and treatment options. It can also help you recognize when it may be time to speak with a healthcare professional.
Tools for managing your lung health
Practical resources can make it easier to manage a lung condition day to day. These may include action plans, inhaler information, symptom-management resources, educational videos and questions to discuss with your healthcare provider.
Support for people living with lung conditions
A lung condition can affect more than your physical health. It can influence your daily routines, work, relationships and emotional well-being. Support and educational resources can help people and families feel more informed and less alone.
Prevention and risk reduction
Many lung conditions can be prevented or their risks reduced. Lung health organizations provide information about smoking and vaping, second-hand smoke, air pollution, workplace exposures and other factors that can affect your lungs.
Advocacy and research
Improving lung health also requires change beyond the individual. Lung health organizations advocate for policies and investments that can improve prevention, access to care, clean air, tobacco control and respiratory health research.
Finding the right lung health resources in Canada
If you’re looking for lung disease support or Canadian lung health resources, start with what you need right now.
Living with a lung condition?
Look for condition-specific information, self-management tools and resources that can help you prepare for conversations with your healthcare team.
Concerned about your symptoms?
Use trusted health information to learn more, but avoid relying on online resources to diagnose yourself. If you have concerns about your health, speak with a qualified healthcare professional.
Trying to protect your lung health?
Look for practical information about smoking and vaping, air quality, workplace exposures, respiratory infections and other risk factors.
Supporting someone with a lung condition?
Resources for caregivers and families can help you better understand their condition and learn how you can provide support.
When choosing an online resource, look for information that is evidence-based, regularly reviewed and relevant to Canadians.
Lung health starts with prevention
Protecting your lungs is important whether or not you currently have a lung condition.
Some steps that can support lung health include avoiding smoking and second-hand smoke, reducing exposure to air pollution, paying attention to air quality during wildfire season, and taking appropriate precautions.
For people living with a lung condition, prevention can also mean understanding your triggers, following your treatment plan and knowing what to do when symptoms change.
But lung health isn’t only an individual responsibility. Healthy lungs also depend on the environments where we live, work and play. That’s why advocacy for cleaner air, stronger respiratory healthcare and investment in lung health research matters.
Lung health support is here for you
Whether you’ve recently received a diagnosis, are supporting someone you love, have questions about your symptoms or simply want to take better care of your lungs, you don’t have to navigate your lung health journey alone.
The Lung Health Foundation provides trusted, evidence-based information and resources to help Canadians better understand lung health, prevent lung disease and support people living with lung conditions and their families.
Start with your lung health. Find reliable information, ask questions and talk with your healthcare team about the next step that’s right for you.
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