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A
new study was just released this year about Asthma and other
Lung Disease Development in culturally- diverse communities.
The study, done by the American Lung Association (ALA),
was directed towards inner city communities. African Americans
and Hispanics generally reside in these areas more than
other races and are at a higher risk for lung related diseases
such as asthma and other illnesses. The study gives relative
and informative information on every aspect of these problems.
One
of the statistics in the study states that African Americans,
which represent 12.7 percent of the United States population
have the highest prevalence of asthma of any other racial/ethnic
group. The cause of these staggering figures is the fact
that many of these ethnically diverse communities do not
have the access to health education or quality medical services.
In addition, other factors such as substandard housing conditions,
harmful working environments such as disease infested office
areas, factories and other workspaces and genetics add to
the ill-fated figures.
In
the African American communities, there are many reasons
why African Americans have a high prevalence of not only
asthma but other lung diseases as well. For example, the
air quality in many African- American communities is not
up to the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards.
Sixty-five percent of African American’s compared
to fifty-seven percent of whites; live in countries that
fail to meet quality standards and regulations for proper
air quality centers. In addition, because African American
live in urban settings and areas with a high ozone concentration,
they are subjected to a higher risk of air pollution which
can lead to a variety of lung diseases.
Other
statistics in the ALA Study states that an estimated 4.8
million African Americans had been diagnosed with asthma
in their lifetime: 3.4 million of them currently have asthma
and 2 million said they experienced an asthma attack in
the past year. In addition, studies found out that there
were racial differences in health care for African Americans
compared to whites. For example, African Americans were
three times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma than
whites and five times more likely to seek care in an emergency
room.
Finally,
the American Lung Association released some recommendations
to prevent asthma. Firstly, get the proper care you need
to battle against asthma and adhere to the doctor’s
instructions, medications and treatments. Secondly, create
an environment which is smoke-free which will prevent others
from receiving asthma from second hand smoke. Lastly, one
should create a clean-air environment by washing linens
in high degree temperatures, remove hindrances of allergens
such as stuffed animals, carpets, rugs etc. from sleeping
areas, and keep floors as dust free as possible by damp-mopping
and vacuuming.
Source:
American Lung Association Lung Disease Data in Culturally
Diverse Communities 2005
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