Asthma

Asthma

The prevalence, morbidity and morality of asthma in the world have dramatically increased during the past two decades. As many as 10 to 15 million of individuals in the United States have asthma and it is a huge number as you can see. Even more alarming is the fact that more than 5.000 people die from asthma each year, even though the vast majority of these deaths are preventable. Moreover, asthma is the most common chronic pediatric disease worldwide, and it’s one of the leading causes of admission to pediatric hospitals. Children living in the inner city appear to be affected disproportionally by asthma morbidity and morality.

Many primary care physicians are beginning to view asthma from a psychosocial perspective and to develop treatment plans accordingly. Multidisciplinary approaches are now being used to develop the best educational and self management program for people with asthma, the psychosocial factors of patients, such as anxiety, depression and social factors such as living in an inner city environment are considered. A major goal of such programs is to teach patients to perform self initiated skills so that they can be proactive partners in the management of their asthma. These programs also need to address the important factor of non - adherence and consider efforts to ensure adherence to self management programs.