31 Dec Return to this Discussion

In 2011, the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), a global epidemiological research program established to investigate asthma in children, released The Global Asthma Report 2011 in conjunction with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. ISAAC conducted a 20-year global study on childhood asthma and discovered that the overall percentage of children and adolescents reported to have ever had asthma increased significantly, which might be the result of more community awareness about asthma and advances in medical practices and diagnoses. Yet, the study also found there were multiple variations in the triggers for asthma (The Global Asthma Report, 2011).

Environmental triggers for asthma include dust mites, mold and mildew, wood burning stoves, and the ozone (Cabana, Slish, Lewis, Brown, Nan, Lin, & Clark, 2004). While there may be a number of triggers to exacerbate symptoms and cause an asthma attack, researchers have been unable to identify a single environmental factor as the cause of asthma. Reflecting on the prevalence of asthma cases in children and adolescents, do you consider increases to be a result of environmental factors or advances in medical practices and diagnoses?

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 4 your position on whether the increased prevalence of asthma is due to environmental factors or advances in medical practices and diagnoses and explain why. Support your position with the Learning Resources and other current literature. Then, explain how you might educate parents/guardians on this subject and provide two examples to support your response.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

Respond by Day 6 to at least one of your colleagues who has an opposing position in one or more of the following ways:

Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.

Offer and support an opinion.

Validate an idea with your own experience.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

Click on the Reply button below to reveal the textbox for entering your message. Then click on the Submit button to post your message.

References

Cabana M. D., Slish K. K., Lewis T.C., Brown R. W., Nan B., Lin X., & Clark N. M. (2004). Parental management of asthma triggers within a child’s environment. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 114(2), 352–357.

The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. (2011). The global asthma report. Retrieved from http://www.globalasthmareport.org/sites/default/files/Global_Asthma_Report_2011.pdf