Melissa E. Shelton, MPA, CHES (Ph.D. Student)

Walden UniversityPUBH 8165-1

Instructor: Dr. Rebecca HeickSpring, 2010

Environmental Triggers Impact

on Children with Asthma

“Let's clean up our environment. Let's clean up our bodies, but most importantly, let's not permit

our babies of the future to be polluted before they are even born” (Louise Slaughter, n.d.).

Louise Slaughter. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/louiseslau255156.html

Outline• Asthma• Asthma Statistics• Asthma Flare-ups• Environmental Asthma Triggers• Environmental Model• Asthma Interventions• Summary• Conclusion

Purpose

The purpose of this service-learning educational presentation is to provide health educators and health communicators an overview of the health effects of environmental asthma triggers, how they affect asthmatic children, and interventions to limit these effects.

Learning ObjectivesThe participants will be able to:

• define asthma • identify three indoor environmental asthma triggers • identify three outdoor environmental asthma triggers• describe three factors that might exacerbate an asthma

flare-up• list three interventions to reduce exposure to environmental triggers

What is Asthma?

Asthma is a condition that affects a person's airways, which are also called breathing tubes or bronchial tubes (KidsHealth, 2010).

KIdsHealth (2010). Asthma. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/kid/asthma_basics/what/asthma.html

Asthma StatisticsAccording to CDC:

• Asthma is the leading chronic illness among children and youth in the United States ("Asthma", 2009).

• 5.6 million school-aged children and youth (5-17 years old) were reported to currently have asthma, in 2007; and

• 2.9 million had an asthma episode or attack within the previous year

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009). Healthy Youth: Asthma. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/asthma/

Asthma Statistics

•12.3 million physicians office visits &1.8 million visits to emergency departments for asthma, the disease exerts a large cost and resource burden on the United States health care system (Bryan-Stephens et al., 2009, p. S660).

Bryan-Stephens, T., Kurian, C., Guo, R., & Zaho, H. (2009). Impact of aHousehold Environmental Intervetnion Delivered by Lay Health Worker on Asthma Symptom Control in Urban, Disadvantaged Children with Asthma [Supplement Material]. American Journal of Public Health, 99(3), S657-S665. Retrieved from http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/search?pubdate_year=2009&volume=99&firstpage=&DOI=&author1=Bryant&author2=&title=&andorexacttitle=and&titleabstract=&andorexacttitleabs=and&fulltext=&andorexactfulltext=and&fmonth=Jan&fyear=2009&tmonth=May&tyear=2010&fdatedef=1+January+1912&tdatedef=1+May+2010&flag=&RESULTFORMAT=1&hits=10&hitsbrief=25&sortspec=relevance&sortspecbrief=relevance&sendit=Search

Asthma Flare-up

An asthma flare-up, also known as an asthma attack or episode, happenswhen a person's airways get swollen and narrower and it becomes a lot harder for air to get in and out of the lungs (KidsHealth, 2010).

KIdsHealth (2010). What is an Asthma Flare-up. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/kid/asthma_basics/what/flare_up.html

Environmental Model

(Moeller, 2005, p. 23)

Moeller, D. W. (2005). Environmental Health (3rd ed.). Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press.

Environment

Public Disease Death

• Second hand smoke • Pollen• Building Materials

• Dust Mites• Cockroaches• Mold• Combustion devices

• Dogs• Cats• Other pet dander

Environmental Asthma Triggers

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010). Case Studies in Environmental Medicine (CSEM)  Environmental Triggers of Asthma Environmental Factors. Retrieved from http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/asthma/envfactors.html

“Studies have shown that people without political power,especially disadvantaged groups who live in lowerincome neighborhoods, often bear disproportionateshare of the risks of environmental pollution”(Moeller, 2005, p.7)

Interventions are imperative to assist children with reducing asthma flare-ups and reducing environmental asthma triggers. The next slides will discuss asthma interventions.

Asthma Interventions

Moeller, D. W. (2005). Environmental Health (3rd ed.). Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press.

Asthma-friendly schools to have policies and procedures that allow students to successfully manage their asthma at school (“Addressing Asthma”, 2010)

Asthma InterventionsSchool-Based Programs

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010). Addressing Asthma. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/asthma/strategies.htm

This visual environmentalpublic health educational intervention is intended to help reduce the exposure of children to outdoor air pollution, includingknown environmental asthma triggers like ozone and particles (Shendell, et. al, 2007)

The outdoor air quality program interventionwas based on the ambient air qualityindex (AQI) used by the local air pollutioncontrol district (Shendell, et. Al, 2007).

Asthma InterventionsOutdoor Air Quality Program

Shendell, D., Rawling, M., Foster, C., Bohlke, A., Edwards, B., Rico, S., Felix, J., Eaton, S., Moen, S., Roberts, E., Love, Mary Beth (2007). The Outdoor Air Quality Flag Program in Central California: A School-Based Educational Intervention to Potentially Help Reduce Children's Exposure to Environmental Asthma Triggers. Journal of Environmental Health, Vol. 70 Issue 3, p28-31.

Summary• Asthma• Asthma Statistics• Asthma Flare-ups• Environmental Health Model• Environmental Asthma Triggers• Asthma Interventions

ReferencesBryan-Stephens, T., Kurian, C., Guo, R., & Zaho, H. (2009). Impact of aHousehold Environmental Intervetnion Delivered by Lay

Health Worker on Asthma Symptom Control in Urban, Disadvantaged Children with Asthma [Supplement Material]. American Journal of Public Health, 99(3), S657-S665. Retrieved from http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/search?pubdate_year=2009&volume=99&firstpage=&DOI=&author1=Bryant&author2=&title=&andorexacttitle=and&titleabstract=&andorexacttitleabs=and&fulltext=&andorexactfulltext=and&fmonth=Jan&fyear=2009&tmonth=May&tyear=2010&fdatedef=1+January+1912&tdatedef=1+May+2010&flag=&RESULTFORMAT=1&hits=10&hitsbrief=25&sortspec=relevance&sortspecbrief=relevance&sendit=Search

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Addressing Asthma. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/asthma/strategies.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009). Healthy Youth: Asthma. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/asthma/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Case Studies in Environmental Medicine (CSEM)  Environmental Triggers of Asthma Environmental Factors. Retrieved from http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/asthma/envfactors.html

Louise Slaughter. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/louiseslau255156.html

Moeller, D. W. (2005). Environmental Health (3rd ed.). Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press.

Shendell, D., Rawling, M., Foster, C., Bohlke, A., Edwards, B., Rico, S., Felix, J., Eaton, S., Moen, S., Roberts, E., Love, Mary Beth (2007). The Outdoor Air Quality Flag Program in Central California: A School-Based Educational Intervention to Potentially Help Reduce Children's Exposure to Environmental Asthma Triggers. Journal of Environmental Health, 70(3), p28-31.

Further Readings

• American Lung Association (2010). Asthma. Retrieved from http://www.lungusa.org/lung- disease/asthma/

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010). Helping Your Child Gain Control Over Asthma. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/asthma/pdfs/ll_asthma_brochure.pdf

• Environmental Protection Agency (2009). Care for Their Air:  Promoting Smoke-free Homes for Head Start Families. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/iaq/headstart/

• Halken S, Host A, Niklassen U, Hansen LG, Nielson F, Pedersen S, Osterballe O, Veggerby C, Poulsen LK. Effect of mattress and pillow encasings on children with asthma and house dust mite allergy. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2003;111:169-76. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/interventions/children.htm#dustmites

• Moeller, D. W. (2005). Environmental Health (3rd ed.) Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press.