Why Do Asthma Exacerbations?

It is important to research environmental risk factors that influence asthma in low income neighborhoods to find possible ways to prevent asthma. The study “Urban Asthma and the Neighborhood Environment in New York City” proves that there is a positive correlation between neighborhoods and asthma hospitalizations.2 Children in lower income neighborhoods are more likely to be hospitalized due to asthma. Those living in lower income neighborhoods also tend to be minorities, which implies that African Americans and Latinos are more susceptible to asthma.2 Moreover, minorities are more likely to be living in public housing. The study explains that 11% of all housing units in Harlem is broken down and not suitable for living which proves that there is a positive correlation between the population of minorities and living in run-down housing and asthma related hospitalization.2

In this paper, I will explore asthma prevalence of children living in New York City. Asthma is an existing serious public health concern in inner cities and urban environments. Especially children with asthma from low SES families or minority groups face difficulties accessing health care, receiving high-quality continuous care, and preventative education. In other words, there is a disparity in the asthma prevalence and care in New York City.

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,

Healthy People 2020 (HP) has set a goal to “promote respiratory health through better prevention, detection, treatment, and education efforts.” One focus is to reduce asthma deaths among children and adults under age 35 years (Healthy People 2000, 2017). HP also recognizes that asthma has many components that can be classified as either genetic or environmental. They are working to both to improve the quality of life for those who suffer from asthma as to reduce the strain ill place on societal recourses. Assessing living situations for environmental triggers is one evidence based practice that can be initialized and then to make modifications that immediately impact the health of an asthma sufferer. Secondly, making sure medical supervision

At various stages of asthma, preventative measures can be used to control or alleviate the symptoms associated with this disease. Education is an important component to every intervention phase, particularly in primary prevention, because the patient is encouraged to be proactive with their personal health in order to avoid and control the triggers. Prescribed medication, such as an inhaler, and an action plan that is individualized to the specific care of a particular patient is essential in the secondary prevention phase. Finally, in the tertiary prevention phase, the care is directed not only at the common asthmatic symptoms and triggers but also at the complications that result from long-term suffering of this disease. This paper focuses on environmental factors which trigger asthma, with specific focus on children from infancy to 16 years of age in low-income housing, and how the appropriate measure can minimize the triggers and symptoms. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is the example we will use.

Khazan first begins the article by sharing with the readers her childhood experience growing up in the industrial city of Los Angeles. She reported that nine percent of the asthma cases at her school were due to the intensity of traffic fumes produced by the five-hundred trucks per hour passing her elementary school campus. She continues on to say that air pollution is not just a contributor to asthma, but to many other medical issues. Although these statistics are not directly correlated to affecting a child's intelligence, it can be assumed that constant inhalation of toxic fumes can not be good for brain development.

According to Williams et al., 2009, asthma is not evenly distributed which raises the question as to why some of the population has more cases of asthma compared to others who do not (Williams et al., 2009). Along with knowing why certain populations are affected more, it is also important to see why and how they are being affected socially. Although asthma is respiratory disease, factors other than biology are at play for such high rates of risk for asthma which need to be determined in order for future use in investigation. There are many factors which can contribute to childhood asthma thus the question is which social determinants have a causation in asthma and how this occurs based on determinants for example; income, gender, race, socioeconomic status, environment, and neighborhood in order to understand why there are cases for asthma and why it may be impacting certain populations more than others. This literature review will focus on these social determinants in order to see the causations and how each determinant in terms of data is related to the intended health

Communication barriers exist between parent, school nurse, and healthcare provider. School staff feel unprepared for asthmatic attacks, especially since they are not told which students have a condition. No policies or protocols are in place to guide staff in what to do when a situation occurs. Staff are unsure when a student is responsible enough to be self-reliant. Limitations include, not having a representative sample from all the school districts. Also, only two healthcare providers answered questionnaires and they were from the same medical centers hosting study. In addition, participants were paid $30 for their time, which could influence who

Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs which impacts many cultures/communities at a disproportionate rate within New York City limits East Harlem for example. Socio-economic status seems to play a significant role in determining which social class groups and geographic locations such as 96th street where lower rates of asthmatics have been reported. Lower socio-economic groups have multiple issues East Harlem to the South Bronx are at-risk urban communities, the assumption being that there are inadequate

The video speaks to public health starting with the prevalence of asthma in children—a chronic disease due to city pollution. Treating asthma is at one end of the public health continuum;

While traveling through the daily path of life, have you ever stumbled upon a hidden pocket of the universe? Well I have, especially as an athlete. As an athlete my life consists mainly around 3 things school, practices and lots of late night studying. I've faced a lot of obstacles growing up because I wasn't always an athlete. I was a short, chubby, asthmatic kid. Asthma is a chronic lung disease that inflames and narrows our airways. As a victim of asthma it was a huge part of my life. At the age of 8 I had about 47 walking pneumonia's in 1 year! But that didn't stop me, when I just has started the fifth grade I had a long, miserable talk with my parents about football and if whether I should play or not. It all came down to my mom deciding

Adults living in New York City have higher rates of asthma than adults living in other regions of New York State.1 Environmental and lifestyle factors are greatly related to urban living and effect asthma occurrence. Our cross-sectional study was set over a 30-day period. Adults over the age of 18 were randomly sampled by a telephone survey throughout the five boroughs of NYC. The effects of smoking status, exercise participation, and exposure to mold in a one year prevalence of asthma were examined. The Bronx had the highest one year prevalence of asthma at 8.3%, whereas Queens had the lowest one year asthma prevalence at 3.5%. Participants who smoked had a 1.5 times greater risk of having asthma (95% CI, 1.2-1.9; p <0.001). Smoking, lack

According to a randomized controlled pilot study from 2006, children of ethnic and racial minorities that live in the inner cities continue to experience higher levels of asthma morbidity and mortality compared to white children, despite numerous medical advances being made.

The Australian average statistic for people that smoke is 23.3%. The employed adult average statistic is 84%. Knowing this we can roughly estimate that in the average workplace 1 out of 4-5 people will smoke. The Australian average for people that suffer from asthma is 18%. This makes 1 out of 5 people in the workplace will suffer from some form of asthma. Unfortunately, having smokers allowed to smoke in and around the premise of a workplace limits the interactions the asthma sufferers can have with other workmates as well as limiting the areas the sufferers may go due to the thick, tar soaked air.

What causes asthma, exacerbations can be caused by multiple different triggers as I have kind of mentioned already. Your body becomes sensitive to certain things. These substances and conditions are your triggers, and can be anything from allergens, dust, mites and small particles. Exactly where asthma comes from is still a mystery. Some people have asthma from birth. “It isn't clear why some people get asthma and others don't, but it's probably due to a combination of environmental and genetic (inherited) factors.” (Mayo Clinic.org) One theory as to where asthma comes from is that it might be inherited from your parents. Another thing that may cause asthma are respiratory infections when you are young. Allergies and viral infections may also