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Maryland Asthma Control Program |
The Maryland Asthma Resource Guide is a tool to assist families, health care providers, and public health professionals in realizing the available asthma resources across the nation, through out Maryland, and within local jurisdictions. The Maryland Asthma Control Program seeks to prevent asthma and maximize the heath and well being of children, adolescents, and adults living with asthma. The Program’s objectives are:
History of the Maryland Asthma Control ProgramThe Childhood Asthma Program was created by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) in 1998 to address the escalating problem of childhood asthma. The goals of this program were (1) to reduce childhood asthma morbidity and mortality,
and In October 2001, the Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene, Family Health Administration, Center for Maternal
and Child Health received a three-year grant from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for
the development of an infrastructure to address asthma,
a surveillance system and an asthma control plan. The
Maryland Asthma Planning Task Force (Task Force) subsequently
was formed and held its first meeting in December 2001.
The Task Force consisted of representatives from selected
health care professions, asthma advocacy organizations,
asthma coalitions, family members and persons with asthma,
state agencies, local health departments, and other
public and community organizations. The Task Force successfully
developed the Maryland Asthma
Plan , which was completed in April 2004. After completion of the Maryland Asthma Plan, the
Task Force was dissolved, and the Maryland Asthma
Coalition was formed. Many former Task Force members
became members of the Maryland
Asthma Coalition . Surveillance reports are available for 2002 and 2003, while analysis of
2004 data continues. Using the surveillance reports,
strategies of the Maryland Asthma Plan were prioritized.
The first intervention was educating health care providers,
through their respective professional organizations
regarding the National Institutes of Health, National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutes “Guidelines
for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma” for
appropriate asthma management. Asthma awareness events
also were conducted in conjunction with World Asthma
Day. An Asthma
Action Plan, endorsed by the Maryland Chapter of
the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), was created
and disseminated to health care providers, local health
departments, and school health personnel. The Asthma
Action Plan is a communication tool to be used by
a health care provider with their patients to explain
proper asthma management. Additional Resources:Smoking
cessation Contact information:Rachel M. Hess-Mutinda, M.S.W |
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