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May 1, 2007 WORLD ASTHMA DAY World Asthma Day, held on May 1st each year, is organized around the theme “You Can Control Your Asthma!” Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation’s Paediatric Asthma Clinic will celebrate the day aimed at raising the population’s awareness of this chronic illness and ultimately improving care. Asthma is one of the most common chronic illnesses in the country. More than 2.2 million Canadians are medically diagnosed as suffering from asthma (12.2% of children and 6.3% of adults).1 Asthma is a condition that affects airways and is characterized by persistent symptoms such as difficulty breathing, a feeling of oppression, cough, and air flow obstruction. As indicated in this year’s theme, people should know that asthma can be controlled. Uncontrolled asthma is a major cause for hospital stays, visits to the Emergency Department, absenteeism, and activity restrictions. With better knowledge of the illness and some teaching, people affected can manage to better control their asthma, which in turn will improve their quality of life. Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation has a Paediatric Asthma Education Program that has been in existence since 1999. It is a physician based service that provides assessment, lung function testing, ongoing monitoring and education. The team consists of a paediatrician, two certified asthma educators (one nurse and one respiratory therapist) as well as a staff nurse from paediatrics. The asthma educators also provide education in the schools as well and liaise with the Asthma Society of Canada. This past winter, the Asthma Society invited an educator and parent of a child followed by the clinic to attend a national stakeholders meeting to help draft an Asthma Patient’s Bill of Rights. This bill will soon be finalized and will act as a catalyst and backdrop for the fundamental rights and direction of asthmatic sufferers in Canada. The Asthma Education Program invites you to drop by an information booth in the lobby of the Saint John Regional Hospital Tuesday, May 1 to get more information about the program, condition or the Asthma Society.
1 Statistics Canada, National Population Healthy Survey 1996-1997
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