Asthma surveillance data is a great resource for healthcare professionals whose patients suffer from asthma. Collecting this data is easy and those who take advantage of it will find they have an easier time understanding and helping their patients. Here’s what you need to know about asthma surveillance data.
Asthma Surveillance Data
Asthma is a highly prevalent disease, affecting roughly 8.3% of the country’s population. Asthma impacts the quality of life and can be difficult to manage. Despite this, there is a limited descriptive epidemiological understanding of this disease, specifically at state and local levels.
Minimal asthma surveillance is occurring all over the country. Proper surveillance of a disease means that healthcare professionals should have the ability to:
- Accurately identify case
- Access needed data,
- Possess adequate resources needed to collect, assess, report, and use the data.
When conducting the research necessary for asthma surveillance data, there are a few questions that should be addressed.
- How much asthma is there?
- What trends in asthma have occurred over time?
- How severe is asthma?
- what are the trends in asthma severity over time?
- How well is asthma being controlled?
- What are the trends in asthma control over time?
- What is the cost of asthma?
In order to effectively answer these questions, specific and accurate data is needed. Public health relies on the collection of data to help manage the programming, planning, implementation, and evaluation of asthma.
Asthma surveillance data is a collection of data related to asthma. This collection of data takes place both at a national level and a state level. Each level has unique purposes and benefits.
National Data
This collection of data is available and discusses important studies such as:
- Prevalence of asthma
- Activity
- Limitations
- Days lost from school or work
- Rescue and control medications use
- Self-management education
- Healthcare visits
- Emergency room visits
- Asthma-related hospitalizations
This vast collection of data can be extremely beneficial in the study of asthma and its effects on patients.
State Level
The state-level of data can be just as helpful as it contains vital research on:
- Prevalence in adults
- Prevalence in children
Asthma surveillance data is typically gathered from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).
Goals
The goals of this data are numerous. Summed up, they essentially serve to:
- Collect crucial information on asthma such as prevalence, hospitalization, mortality, risk, etc.
- Produce reports explaining the burden of asthma for the public as well as health care professionals.
- Provide critical information necessary to develop asthma management programs
- Evaluate the effectiveness of self-management programs
Through a proper study, analysis, and collection of asthma-related data, informed decisions can
Be made on the care of patients suffering from asthma. Asthma surveillance data is a crucial resource that must be prioritized.
