RESPIRE Malaysia Asthma Straw Challenge

Understanding the experiences of those who have asthma

The Asthma Straw Challenge was a social media challenge conducted by RESPIRE Malaysia around World Asthma Day 2021. Inspired by campaigns such as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which successfully raised awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis back in 2014, the RESPIRE Malaysia Asthma Straw Challenge used a similar modus operandi with comparable goals. The purpose of this challenge was to ultimately raise awareness of asthma by engaging those who do not suffer from the disease to attempt breathing through a straw. This mimics the feeling of an asthma attack, enabling those who have never had an asthma attack before to have a better understanding of the experiences of people with asthma.

Our first step was to create posters that contained infographics on Malaysian statistics and general information about asthma. Aside from having educational value, these posters also contained details on how to participate in the challenge. These were then posted on RESPIRE Malaysia’s Facebook and Instagram pages. In order to join in on the challenge, participants were asked to film a video of themselves trying to breathe through a straw for 15 seconds and to describe their experience afterwards. These videos were uploaded to their own social media pages with the hashtags #AsthmaStrawChallenge, #WorldAsthmaDay2021, #RESPIRE and #RESPIREMalaysia so that they could be found by our moderators easily. They were also asked to tag 3 friends when they posted their videos in order to keep the momentum going and have more people participate. These videos were then collected by our team and subsequently collated into a video collage. During our World Asthma Day Launch on the 23rd of May 2021, this was showcased to our audience and was well received by them. 

Asthma Straw Challenge video

This video was shared through the RESPIREMalaysia social media channels.

Asthma Straw Challenge Booklet

Some of the stories shared through the RESPIRE Malaysia social media channels have been compiled into a booklet produced by the University of Malaya and Universiti Putra Malaysia, RESPIRE partner institutions in Malaysia.

View the stories in the RESPIRE Malaysia Asthma Real Life Stories booklet:

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