Asthma management practices among children in Georgia.
BACKGROUND
Asthma self-management, the involvement of patients or their caregivers in the management of their disease, reduces healthcare visits and costs. We assessed selected asthma self-management practices among a representative sample of children in Georgia to guide statewide asthma control programs.


METHODS
A random-digit-dialed telephone survey of 2,121 households with 3,896 children 17 years of age or younger was conducted. Primary caretakers were asked about asthma and medication use of their children. Child data were weighted according to the number of telephone lines in the household and to the 2000 Georgia Census population.


RESULTS
Approximately 10 percent of children in Georgia had asthma. Among children with asthma, 30 percent did not have regular asthma checkups and 66 percent did not have a written management plan; 19 percent filled 2 or more prescriptions per year for quick-relief medicine but did not take control medication. For children with asthma for whom tobacco exposure was a known trigger, 35 percent were exposed to tobacco smoke in the home.


CONCLUSIONS
Opportunities exist to improve self-management, pharmacotherapy, and exposure to triggers for children with asthma. These data can be used to guide organizations and agencies working to reduce the burden of asthma.
Blackwell
Angela D
AD
Health Outcomes Unit, Chronic Disease, Injury, and Environmental Epidemiology Section, Epidemiology Branch, Division of Public Health, Georgia Department of Human Resources, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, USA. adblackwell@dhr.state.ga.us
Mellinger-Birdsong
Anne K
AK
Wu
Manxia
M
Mertz
Kristen J
KJ
Powell
Kenneth E
KE
D000293:Adolescent; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D044383:Black People; D017028:Caregivers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D012923:Social Class; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American
D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents