Executive Summary

Conclusion

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	Executive Summary

		Overview

		Frequency and Severity of Symptoms

		Acute Treatment of Asthma

		Personal Consequences of Asthma

		Unmet Standards of Care

		Parent-Child Communication Gap

		Widespread Misunderstanding

		Conclusion

		Missing the Mark

		Survey Methods

		Glossary

	National/Regional Survey Data



	Survey Slide Kit

Even though there are established guidelines for the treatment of asthma developed by the NHLBI, the Children and Asthma in America survey concludes that the nation falls far short on nearly every goal of successful treatment. This leads to unnecessary personal, physical, emotional, economic and public health consequences.

Despite the existing blueprint for successful asthma management strategies and the availability of effective long-term preventative medications, many parents are seriously uninformed and misinformed about how to achieve and maintain symptom control for their children. As a result, parents accept a much lower level of asthma control for their children than is possible. Poorly controlled asthma places children at potential risk for a variety of consequences including frequent symptoms, missed school, restriction on activities, emotional distress, hospitalizations and even fatal asthma attacks.

Parents and children need ongoing education and tools to help them recognize the signs of poorly controlled asthma and understand what optimal asthma control means. Helping to improve the communication between a parent and his or her child about asthma symptoms and how these symptoms impact their child’s life may lead to an improved dialogue about asthma control with the child’s healthcare provider. This in turn, may be the catalyst needed to help the nation meet the NHLBI goals.