In cities outside of Boston, Massachusetts, local health directors are focusing on childhood asthma as part of an effort to improve the overall physical well-being of their residents.
According to The Daily Item, cities such as Lynn and Nahant rank particularly high when it comes to childhood asthma rates and local health directors plan to target common triggers like air quality, cigarette smoke and pests to reduce the prevalence of this chronic respiratory disease in their communities.
Lynn health director MaryAnn O’Connor told the source that she,along with her peers in the North Shore Shared Public Health Services Program,wants to use the $350,000 provided by the state of Massachusetts to initiate campaigns aimed at diminishing childhood asthma.
Many of these efforts will involve working with parents and property owners to educate them about the different asthma and allergy triggers as well as coming up with reasonable solutions for limiting them.
“Consistency in how health programs are implemented is important, especially in attacking chronic diseases – including heart disease and diabetes: The message doesn’t change depending on what community you live in,” said Sharon Cameron, who serves as the health director in the town of Peabody.
According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAI), one in 12 people in the United States has asthma, and in 2007, 185 children and 3,262 adults died from complications related to this chronic respiratory disease.
With these statistics in mind, it’s important for communities across the country to work on reducing asthma rates. While health directors continue their efforts to combat asthma and allergies, individuals can invest in products like a whole house air purifier to limit the amount of irritating triggers in their home.
