Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . Appendix F: Asthma Programs Outside of DHHS
U.S. Olympic gold-medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee encourages fellow asthma sufferers, "I control my asthma every day. So can you." Olympic gold medalist swimmers Amy Van Dyken and Tom Dolan, as well as NBA All-Star Dennis Rodman also devote time and resources to carrying the message that asthma should not prevent people from pursuing their dreams--e
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . Appendix E: Summary of Existing DHHS Programs
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is responsible for federal programs which promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals, and communities.
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . Appendix C: Summary of the Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma
Experts convened by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program coordinated by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently assessed the pertinent scientific literature and offered recommendations for managing asthma. Their report, Expert Panel Report 2: Guidelines for the Diagn
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . Appendix B: Participants in the DHHS Asthma Workgroup
Altamese Arnold, Health Insurance Specialist Division of Benefits Coverage and Payment Health Care Financing Administration Baltimore, MD
M. Beth Benedict, Dr.P.H. Social Science Research Analyst Office of Strategic Planning Health Care Financing Administration Baltimore, MD
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . Appendix A: Agencies Participating in the HHS Asthma Workgroup
Administration for Children and Families
Administration for Children, Youth, and Families
Child Care Bureau Head Start Bureau
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Health Studies
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Division of Adolescent and School Health Nati
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . Notes
1. The term "minority" as used in the rest of this paper refers to "racial and ethnic minority."
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . References
1. Thacker SB, Berkelman RL. Surveillance of medical technologies. Journal of Public Health Policy 1986; 7:363-377.
2. Teutsch SM, Churchill RE. Principles and Practice of Public Health Surveillance New York: Oxford University Press, 1994:3.
3. Institute of Medicine. The Future of Public Health. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 19
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . Specific Recommendations
This five year strategy for DHHS, Action Against Asthma , was developed by the Department's asthma experts, along with input from public comment. The following specific recommendations address the four priority areas of the five-year strategy. With each recommendation, the agency with primary responsibility for implementation is identified. Howev
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . Conclusion
This document describes an ambitious strategy for tackling asthma over the next five years. A concerted effort along these lines could identify strategies to reduce rates of asthma and could significantly improve asthma management for children, minorities and the poor. Now is the time to take full advantage of the discoveries of the last ten years
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . Priority Area 4: Track the Disease and Assess the Effectiveness of Asthma Programs
Current DHHS Activities: Tracking the Disease
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . Priority Area 3: Eliminate the Disproportionate Burden of Asthma in Minority Populations and Those Living in Poverty
Low income populations and minorities experience disproportionately higher morbidity and mortality due to asthma. The reasons for these disparities are not clearly understood, but where poverty is present they are probably due to an interaction of factors including: lack of access to quality medical care, high levels of exposure to environmental a
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . Priority Area 2: Reduce the Burden of Asthma for People with the Disease
Widespread use of the Guidelines is essential for reducing fatalities, emergency room visits and hospital stays, and for improving day to day quality of life for people with asthma (58). Despite the existence of the Guidelines , a substantial gap remains between their recommendations and the actual practices of many clinicians, people with asth
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . Priority Area 1: Determine the Causes of Asthma and Develop Interventions to Prevent Its Onset
Research has not yet identified or demonstrated how to prevent the onset of asthma. Research to prevent asthma in individual patients or in high risk populations is known as "primary prevention" research. It includes both research to understand the causes of asthma and testing strategies to prevent its occurrence. This research is critical to disc
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . Secretary's Initiative on Asthma
In the fall of 1997, DHHS Secretary Donna Shalala called for an initiative to tackle the growing problem of asthma. Shortly thereafter, the President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children, which Secretary Shalala co-chairs with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Carol Browner, began to address the
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . DHHS Capacity to Address Asthma
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has a broad mandate to advance the health and welfare of Americans (see box), and has a significant role to play in addressing the asthma epidemic. DHHS' areas of responsibility for asthma include research, public health, and health services delivery.
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . The Challenge of Asthma
Rates of asthma as well as the burden of this chronic disease are increasing, despite important advances in research. This paradox raises two distinct issues: the increase in asthma over the last 15 years, and the continuing hardships for those who already have the disease.
Why are rates of asthma increasing? Why is the burden of asthma still
Action Against Asthma: A Strategic Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services . The Science of Asthma
Over the past 15 years, biomedical research has produced major advances in the understanding of asthma. Prior to this period the role of inflammatory mechanisms in asthma was not understood. Asthma is now known to be a disease of airway inflammation resulting from a complex interplay between environmental exposures and genetic and other host facto
