Blog
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USC Publishes Does Race Increase Your Chances of Asthma?
Nursing@USC, the online Family Nurse Practitioner Program at the University of Southern California, has published a resource titled “Does Race Increase Your Chance of Asthma?” The visual and written guide investigates the social determinants of health that affect asthma and examines how they impact black children as opposed to their white peers. The guide details…
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Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Releases Schools for Health: Foundations for Student Success
The Healthy Buildings Team at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has released a report titled “Schools for Health: Foundations for Student Success.” The document was designed to synthesize more than thirty years of scientific research about the impacts of indoor environmental quality in schools, and also provide an accessible, evidence-based guide to the…
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Take a Stand against U.S. EPA’s Proposal to Weaken Air Pollution Rules
In a move that risks the public’s health and the progress California and other states have achieved to clean the air, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to weaken vehicle emissions and mileage standards, and to prohibit California and other states from adopting more health-protective standards. If adopted, the proposal would dramatically curb effective…
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Reducing the Burden of Asthma through a Comprehensive, Community-Centered Approach [Video]
In this video, filmed in May 2018, Anne Kelsey Lamb, RAMP Director, presents at Grand Rounds at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. She presents a comprehensive approach to addressing asthma disparities, focusing on upstream determinants of health including substandard housing, outdoor air pollution, stress and exposure to violence. Part I Part II
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Researchers Conduct Longitudinal Examination of Asthma Medication Ratio
The June 2018 edition of The American Journal of Managed Care includes a longitudinal examination of the asthma medication ratio (AMR) of “a large national cohort of children with asthma.” Researchers calculated an AMR for each patient at rolling 3-month and 6-month periods, and classified patients as being at a low-risk, high-risk, or missing AMR.…
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Study Investigates Criteria Other than HEDIS for Persistent Asthma
The June 2018 Edition of The Journal of Managed Care contains an article that explores criteria other than the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) persistent asthma definition. Researchers performed an analysis on patients aged two to eighteen with three years of continuous enrollment, constructing and testing multiple potential definitions on two years of…
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Article Examines Asthma Safety of Long-Acting β2-Agonists
In an article published in the June 2018 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers reviewed safety concerns over long-acting β2 – agonists (LABAs) in asthma management. To conduct the study, researchers “performed a combined analysis of the four trials comparing an inhaled glucocorticoid plus a LABA (combination therapy) with an inhaled glucocorticoid…
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Researchers Explore Using Wellness Coaches to Affect Pediatric Asthma Outcomes
Translational Behavioral Medicine’s June 2018 edition includes an article exploring the use of wellness coaches to target parental stress, “a well-documented mediator of poor pediatric asthma outcomes.” Researchers utilized two wellness coaches that conducted four-session interventions on parents with children with persistent asthma. “Participants reported high acceptability of working with the wellness coaches,” and “use…
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Effects of Interactive Physical Play and Asthma Symptoms on Socio-Emotional and Academic Outcomes in Children
In an article in the July 2018 edition of The Journal of Asthma, researchers sought to investigate how a reduction of interactive physical play due to asthma can impact socio-emotional and academic outcomes for children. Researchers examined caregiver surveys of 324 children that assessed asthma severity, the amount of interactive physical play, socio-emotional and academic…
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Article Discusses Risks of Thunderstorms on Asthma
An article published on Medscape in August 2017 discusses how thunderstorms can lead to asthma epidemics and affect “patients who have never exhibited asthma symptoms before.” Usually, pollen grains are too large and don’t move down to the bronchial tree. The weather effects in thunderstorms can break down pollen to a small size “resulting in…
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Study Examines Increased Dose of Inhaled Corticosteroids in Children with Asthma in the Yellow Zone
An article in the June 2018 edition of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology reviewed studies examining an increased dose of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) when children with asthma were in the yellow zone. After reviewing several studies, the authors note there are “conflicting results and lack of support to increase dose of ICS,” and suggest it…
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Study Reviews Biomarkers and Endotypes in Childhood Asthma
In the June edition of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology an article examines the underlying molecular mechanisms of asthma phenotypes and pays special attention to asthma endotypes and biomarkers. The article notes “a careful assessment of inflammatory endotypes should be considered a central component of the workup and management of severe asthma in children.” The…