Childhood Asthm A And Public Health Issue

Asthma is a serious problem nationwide. It is also a significant problem in the state of Massachusetts, especially in communities in Boston. However, according to Harvard School of Public Health and NIEHS Center for Environmental Health, Roxbury and North Dorchester are highly noticeable hotspots (Backus, Terrell, Wool, & Straubel, 2012, p. 23). For the purpose of this paper, the main focus will be on asthma cases in

To better understand the impact of asthma, a brief overview of the causes (aetiology) and disease progression (pathophysiology) must be shown. As common as asthma is, not much is known about its aetiology, according to findings presented by Subbaroa, Mandhane and Sears (2009, pg. 181-187) in a review from the Canadian

Since asthma exacerbations in adolescence can lead to emergency room visits, hospitalizations, missed school and diminished health status, there was an evident need for effective asthma management for this population (Quaranta et al., 2014). Unfortunately, these rural adolescents with asthma, and their families, had difficulty determining when their asthma was poorly controlled; and unless the asthma symptoms were disruptive to family life, there was often little motivation for these individuals to seek medical care, thus increasing the risk of poor outcomes (Quaranta et al., 2014, p. 99). According

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Nicholas and his colleagues found in their study that the children asthma prevalence in East Harlem was about 4 times that of the national prevalence. Specifically, African American children had 3 times higher asthma prevalence. (Nicholas, 2005) Asthma is the leading cause of emergency room evaluations, pediatric hospitalizations, and school absenteeism in New York City (Corburn, Osleeb, & Porter, 2006)

Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children (Kahn and Boskey). Childhood asthma is when the lungs and airways become inflamed when something comes in contact to trigger it. There are different objects or activities to trigger a child’s asthma and if not treated appropriately it can cause an asthma attack. This disease can outbreak from a cold or any respiratory infection. Daily symptoms can interfere with a child’s asthma like a cold, sports, school, or play ("Childhood Asthma."). In the United States, it is estimated that approximately 5 million children under the age of 18 have this disease. In 1993 alone, asthma was the reason for almost 200,000 hospital stays and about 340 deaths under the age of 25 (Kahn and Boskey). Normally children will outgrow this disease by the time they

As of 2009, studies conducted by the CDC have shown that asthma impacts approximately one in every twelve people, and the numbers only continue to grow (CDC, 2011). Some of the most common symptoms can range anywhere from coughing (especially at night or during exercise), wheezing and chest tightness, to shortness of breath. Asthma is often a chronic condition and while many times it can present itself as being mild, it can also sometimes lead to death if a person suffers an asthma attack. Asthma can be genetic, but it can also be caused, as well as exacerbated by, environmental factors such as air pollution. Studies have shown that children living in the Bronx are experiencing asthma at levels eight times higher than the national average. In addition, rates of death from asthma are a whopping three times higher than the national average, and hospitalization rates at about five times higher.” (Ruppell, 2000). Asthma is not a disease that targets only one group of people, yet the Bronx still exhibits disproportionately high levels of asthma especially in neighborhoods that are poorer areas of the city. In fact, people from these poor areas are 21 times more likely to be hospitalized due to asthmatic conditions compared to people from more affluent parts of the city (Ruppell,

Asthma affects 1 in every 12 Americans. According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology, Asthma is affects “About 1 in 9 (11%) non-Hispanic blacks of all ages and about 1 in 6 (17%) of non-Hispanic black children had asthma in 2009, the highest rate among racial/ethnic groups.” As a mother of child with asthma, I know how scary it can be to deal with asthma attacks and learning how to treat the symptoms and minimize risk factors.

Asthma is prevalent in all countries regardless of level of the development. According to the World Health Organization 235 million people worldwide have asthma. It is however estimated that 80% of asthma deaths occur in low income countries (World Health Organization, 2015). Within the United States there are many climates and environmental triggers that can cause an exacerbation is asthma symptoms. According to the NHLBI hospitalization is three times higher among African Americans than white, and Puerto Ricans have the highest rate of asthma attacks and deaths related to asthma. Severe asthma is more common among women, children, low income inner city residents, Puerto Ricans, and African American. This disparity within the

Asthma is a chronic condition affecting the respiratory system and has a considerable impact on both individuals and a population. Everybody is susceptible to asthma, some more than others, depending of a variety of factors including, age, sex, geographical location and income. Asthma is particularly prevalent in younger children and the elderly and while it can be fatal, most people have mild cases of asthma that are relatively easy to treat. The condition mainly impacts an individual’s physical ability to contribute to a community.

Throughout the years knowledge about asthma has grown, as well as treating it effectively. Over 300 million people are said to be victims of this disease with another 100 million being estimated by 2025 globally (Currie and Baker, 2012). In the United Kingdom, asthma is increasingly becoming one of the leading disease affecting individual of different age, ethnicity, race and gender. British Lung Foundation (2011) stated that it is more common at childhood stage and can also occur at a later age. According to Asthma UK (2014) asthma in men is less prevalence than it is in women and children troubled more with asthma than adults. Recent data in the UK shows that in children and occupational asthma in adult is on the rise with an estimate

Asthma-related ER visits and inpatient hospitalizations in zip code (65616) for years (2010-2014) are higher among females (53.3% and 59.8٪) (Figure1&7), respectively than males (46.6% and 40.2٪) respectively (Figure1&7), which is consistent with the statistics that confirm asthma is more prevalent among females than males. The white asthmatic patients have higher percentages of ER visits for asthma by 87.3% compared with black or African American by 12.7% (Figure2) (CDC, 2013). This result differs from the national

With the amount of asthma increasing today, "...about 6.8 million American children currently have asthma" (Duhaime-Ross). Asthma is a condition that causes difficulty breathing. While many factors can often trigger asthma flares, environmental conditions would be among the top. Children are in atmospheres that are not as sheltered as

Childhood asthma impacts scores of youngsters and their families. In fact, the bulk of kids develop respiratory illness before the age of

Experts have yet to understand why the rates of asthma are rising by an average of 50% every decade worldwide. According to the Asthma Society of Canada (2016), asthma is now considered to be a major health concern with approximately 235 million suffering from this illness worldwide. Kuhn et al (2015) states that as at 2012, one out of 12 people in the United States had asthma and the number continues to rise. More people have been diagnosed with this disease and in 2007; over 3000 deaths were linked to Asthma. Furthermore, the costs of treating asthma continue to rise with about 56 billion dollars being spent in 2007 compared to $53 billion in 2002 (CDC, 2011). From data gathered in California, which is our area of study, it was estimated that 2.3 million