Tagged: asthma

  • May 6, 2014

    Making a difference on World Asthma Day

    Written by
    Sanda Pecina, eputy Director, Social Marketing and Communication, FHI 360

    What would you do if someone next to you — on the bus, on the subway, in line at the grocery store or at the gym — suddenly had trouble breathing because of asthma?

    You would help.

    But what if you could help that person with a few clicks of your mouse before he or she lost a single breath?

    This Asthma Awareness Month (May) and World Asthma Day (May 6), you can.

    How? By taking the following actions to spread the message that asthma — a chronic lung disease that can be disabling or deadly and affects 1 in 12 people in the United States, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHBLI) — can be controlled with proper treatment.

    • Thunderclap: Get Asthma Aware
      Join the NHLBI’s Asthma Thunderclap by 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time today (May 6) to increase asthma awareness. Using Thunderclap, you can share your message about asthma through your favorite social media channels in a single stroke.
    • Twitter chat: Coping with Asthma
      U.S. News and the NHLBI will co-host a Twitter chat about coping with asthma on May 14, 2:00–3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Join us and follow the chat by using #AsthmaChat.

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  • May 7, 2013

    It’s time to control asthma

    Written by
    Kate Fink, Communication Officer, FHI 360

    It may seem simple: breathe in, breathe out. But for the 25 million Americans who have asthma, inhaling and exhaling can be like breathing through a straw. Asthma is a common, chronic disease causing inflammation of the airways. In the United States, asthma is responsible for nine deaths each day and costs the health care system $56 billion every year. Asthma is more common and severe among African American, Puerto Rican and Native American children.

    There is no cure for asthma. But with proper treatment, asthma can be controlled. Each May, people across the globe commemorate World Asthma Day and Asthma Awareness Month to spread the message that it’s time to control asthma.

    FHI 360 recently worked with the U.S. National Institutes of Health to implement the National Asthma Control Initiative, a program that empowers health care providers and patients to follow the latest science-based asthma care guidelines.

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  • April 16, 2013

    Award-winning publication helps students with asthma keep active

    Written by
    Carole Craft, Science Writer, FHI 360

    Regular physical activity is important for health and well-being. But for the estimated one in 10 students in the United States who have asthma, their condition may be viewed as a barrier to physical activity, particularly if their asthma is not well controlled.

    Thankfully, teachers, coaches, and school administrators now have an award-winning tool to guide them in supporting students who have asthma, so those students can participate fully and safely in physical activity — whether in the gym, on the playground or during a class field trip.

    The tool, Asthma & Physical Activity in the School: Making a Difference, was developed by FHI 360 and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The publication received a 2013 ClearMark Award from the Center for Plain Language, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit that advocates for and supports the use of plain language in government, business and academic institutions. Its annual ClearMark Awards celebrate the best in plain language among public- and private-sector print and online communications.

    An update of the 1995 publication of the same name, this 32-page booklet provides school personnel with essential information in an easy-to-digest format that they can use to help students with asthma remain healthy and active. It explains technical asthma terms in simple language, calls out actions for school staff and includes helpful reproducible tools, such as asthma action plans and instructions on using asthma inhalers and other devices. The update reflects changes in asthma care guidelines, issued in 2007 by the NHLBI, and clarifies key points about asthma control.

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