Childhood asthma among the underserved population. by Rachel Adejoh RN BSN Coppin State University Helen Fuld School of Nursing Primary care Nursing 660 Professor Setlow, P. May 7th, 2013.

facts A body of research has shown that asthma is disproportionately shouldered by socially disadvantaged populations, particularly minority children living in low-income urban areas. Childhood asthma is a particularly pertinent example of a disease that is socially patterned.

Childhood asthma cost An estimated 2.52 million children aged five to 17 years received treatment for asthma. Direct medical expenditure was $1009.8 million ($401 per child with asthma), including payments for prescribed medicine, hospital inpatient stay, hospital outpatient care, emergency room visits, and office-based visits. Children with treated asthma had a total of 14.5 million school absence days; asthma accounts for 6.3 million school absence days (2.48 days per child with asthma).

Childhood asthma cost Parents’ loss of productivity from asthma-related school absence days was $719.1 million ($285 per child with asthma). A total of 211 school-age children died of asthma during 1996, accounting for $264.7 million lifetime earnings lost ($105 per child with asthma). Total economic impact of asthma in school-age children was $1993.6 million ($791 per child with as

statistics From cdc.gov.

Childhood asthma cartoon

References Elizabeth, W., Holt, K., Rabito, F. (2012). Individual, Housing, and Neighborhood Correlates of Asthma among Young Urban Children. Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, Vol. 90, (1)doi:10.1007/s11524-012- 9709-3

Reference American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (2013). Retrieved from http://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and- treatments/library/at-a glance/childhood-asthma.aspx