Katie L. Sundt: This is an online portfolio created for P500: Social and Behavioral Sciences, IU School of Medicine, Masters in Public Health, Fall 2012

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References:

Asthma in the US: Growing Every Year (2011).  Center for Disease Control and Prevention:  Vital Signs. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/VitalSigns/Asthma/index.html.

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Saha, C., Riner, M., & Liu, G. (2005).  Individual and Neighborhood-Level Factors in Predicting  Asthma. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med., 159, 759-763.

​Asthma in Children

Asthma diagnoses and prevalence has been growing at an alarming rate in the United States.  According to Saha and colleagues (2005)​, “asthma is now the most common chronic childhood disease, occurring in approximately 54 of 1,000 children” and disproportionately affects more black children (p. 74)​. Among black children, boys are at an even greater risk than girls (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011).

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Various factors, both at the family and societal level determinants begin to explain the disproportionate number of African American school aged boys affected by asthma, which is explored throughout this website to aid communities across the United States to seek help, know what asthma is, including the signs and symptoms and realize if you are at risk for this debilitating, yet very manageable chronic illness, with the right programs and resources from family, friends and your community, you can begin to reclaim your life and health through medication and self-management skills.