Asthma : Burden vs. Control

ASTHMA CAN BE CONTROLLED !

^{Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases
among children and youth in the United States.}

^{On average, in a classroom of 30 children, about 3 are likely to have asthma. 1
Low-income populations, minorities, and children living in inner cities experience more emergency department visits, hospitalizations,
and deaths due to asthma than the general population. 2
Asthma is the third-ranking
cause of hospitalization among children under 15. 3
The estimated cost of treating asthma
in those under 18 is $3.2 billion per year. 4}

^{Every day
in America, 40,000 people miss school or work, 30,000 people have an asthma attack, 5,000
people visit the emergency room, 1,000 people are admitted to the hospital, and}^{11 people die from complications due to asthma.
5}

1. Akinbami LJ. The State of Childhood Asthma [pdf 365K],
United States, 1980-2005.
Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics: no 381,
Revised December 29, 2006.
Hyattsville, MD. National Center for Health Statistics, 2006.

2. Lieu TA, Lozano P, Finkelstein JA, Chi FW, Jensvold NG, Capra AM.
Racial/Ethnic Variation in Asthma Status and Management
Practices Among Children in Managed Medicaid.
Pediatrics 2002; 109:857–865.

3. Popovic JC. 1999 National Hospital Discharge Survey.
Annual Summary with Detailed Diagnosis and Procedure Data

4. National Center for Health Statistics.
Vital Health Statistics 2001;13(151):21, Table 10

5. Annual U.S. Prevalence Statistics for Chronic Diseases

Q: What time is it?

A: It is time to use new and innovative asthma education methods

Section 3, Component 2: Education For A Partnership In Asthma from the 2007 NHLBI and NAEPP Expert Panel Report 3 states that a partnership between the clinician and the person with asthma (and the caregiver, for children) is required for effective asthma management. By working together, the patient can learn self-management skills necessary to control asthma. Self-management education improves patient outcomes (e.g., reduced urgent care visits, hospitalizations, limitations on activities as well as improved health status, quality of life, and perceived control of asthma) and can be cost-effective.
CTK's innovative asthma education music CD, "Asthma Blues"© creates the educational bridge that helps to strengthen the connection between the clinician and the person with asthma. The educational music on the "Asthma Blues"© CD delivers key concepts and messages for asthma management. This evidence-based addition to the CTK health education product line translates the goals of the NHLBI and NAEPP Expert Panel Report (EPR) 3 into music. "Asthma Blues"© also delivers 5 of the 6 Priority Messages from the 2008 Guidelines Implementation Panel (GIP) Report while emphasizing one of the GIP Report’s core themes, Communication. Another core theme, Patient/Provider Support, is highlighted by empowering patients to take an active role in their own therapy and treatment decisions through education and information sharing. Through this empowerment, "Asthma Blues"© supports and promotes the physician-patient relationship. CTK's original delivery of asthma education messages through the music of "Asthma Blues"©, represents a potentially powerful way to improve the quality and efficiency of asthma management.