Part 1
Asthma is a chronic issue that affects many people worldwide. the economic burden associated with asthma is significant. As this is a chronic illness, on average $3,2666 is spent annually per person for the incremental medical cost (Nurmagambetov et al., 2018). This can vary based on several factors like insurance and the severity of asthma. Finding ways to reduce the presence of asthma is vital not only for our health but our wallets as well!
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, created a national Asthma Control Program in 1999 to gain control over asthma. The goals of this program include "reducing the number of deaths, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, school days or workdays missed, and limitations on activity due to asthma” (CDC, 2022). This program has helped with the management and treatment of asthma within the United States and improved the quality of asthma care. The infographic below gives more information regarding this organization.
The Texas Department of State Health Services has created a “strategic plan for asthma control in Texas” that will be done between 2021 and 2024. The goals of this plan are to “expand access to and delivery of asthma self-management education, reduce the use of tobacco products, expand access to and delivery of home visits and asthma trigger reduction, strengthening systems to support guidelines-based medical care, provide clinical, public health, and community linkages and coordination of care, and develop environmental policies to reduce asthma triggers” (DSHS, 2020). There are 3 local health departments working on this program, Dallas County Health and Human Services, Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services, and San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.
Prompt: With the high prevalence of asthma in the United States, what can we do the lower these rates as public health officials?
References:
CDC. (2022, April 13). National asthma control program. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/nacp.htm
Nurmagambetov, T., Kuwahara, R., & Garbe, P. (2018). The Economic Burden of Asthma in the United States, 2008–2013. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 15(3), 348–356. https://doi.org/10.1513/annalsats.201703-259oc
Texas Department of State Health Services. (2020). Strategic Plan For Asthma Control In Texas, 2021-2024. Texas Department of State Health Services. Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://www.dshs.texas.gov/asthma/default.aspx
