...relieved your symptoms of asthma, knowing if you do not find your inhaler you could be flopping on the floor until consciousness is lost. Some asthmatics say it feels like your trying to breathe through a straw. This feeling is due to the inflammation caused by a trigger that causes the narrowing of the airway leading to the chest tightness, shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing. Asthma is the most common chronic disease affecting people today. Asthma is described as an epidemic rather than and endemic because it is not restricted by age, sex, racial group or region. Asthma is widespread throughout the world but higher rates of prevalence are seen in African Americans. Asthma can affect anyone, despite the development of new treatment options; asthma remains a major health problem in the United States. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), about 15 million Americans have or carry a diagnosis of asthma and it is the third leading cause of preventable hospitalizations in the United States. About 500,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths occur annually from asthma, and the mortality rate continues to rise. This rise is especially dramatic in the African-American community, despite the absence of a known racial preference for asthma. It is now well established that under treatment and inappropriate treatments are the leading contributors to asthma morbidity and mortality in the United States. The African-American community is the most affected...
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...vulnerability and accessing necessary care to maintain optimal health. In the Neighborhood 2.0, I chose the Young Family. The Young family is a young, African American family that lives a comfortable life. The Young family is a family of four, with health insurance and great family support. Steve is a college educated man that provides a great life for his family. Although Steve is healthy he is a smoker. Race, ethnicity, social status and personal limitations can affect vulnerability. Steve Young is an African American man who works a very stressful job. He has been a smoker since he was 17 years old. In the Neighborhood, we learn that Steve’s daughter, Kelsey, has been treated several times for allergies and chronic coughing. I chose to take a closer look at Kelsey, for my vulnerable population. She is vulnerable because she is an African American child who has been diagnosed with Asthma. She has no control over the circumstances that could have contributed to her diagnosis of asthma. She is unable to control her exposure to second hand smoke from her father, who has tried multiple times to quit. Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke can have more ear infections, cough and colds, respiratory problems, pneumonia and tooth decay. According to National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute “Asthma is a complex chronic inflammatory...
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...Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs that affects millions of children in America. Millions of children are diagnosed with the disease each year, and are frequent visitors of the countries’ emergency rooms. Asthma is Greek for panting, which is what asthmatics experience when they experience an asthma attack (Eisele, 2003). According to Neergard (2006), more than 20 million Americans have asthma, and the chronic lung disease is on the rise. This paper will discuss the, causes, symptoms, treatments and the demographics of children being diagnosed with the disease. In order to understand the severity of the disease called asthma, one must understand it causes. These causes lead to the symptoms that have thus far caused the disease to kill 5,000 people every year and accounts for 2 million emergency-room visits (Neergaard, 2006). Though there are treatments for the disease widely available, certain causes of the diseases aren’t concretely founded, causing asthma to remain a mysterious disease to doctors. In the following we will go on a journey to discover the mysterious, precarious reality of children diagnosed with asthma. According to Eisele (2003), five thousand people die of it every year in the United States. Currently it's the sixth most common chronic condition in the nation. Three times as many people have it now as in 1980. Some 6 million of them are children. For children, asthma is the most common chronic disorder, the leading cause of missed school, and the leading...
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...would help challenge the negative ideologies towards public issues. Forms of racial exclusions have corrupted American politics, permitting leaders to mobilize individuals based on their racial appeals. Correspondingly, the existence of tenement housing acts as a reminder that the history of inequality has been present in the United States for quite...
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...OAKLAND OAKLAND OAKLAND Consolidated Community Benefit Plan 2012 Kaiser Foundation Hospital – Oakland Northern California Region KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL (KFH)-OAKLAND 280 West MacArthur Boulevard Oakland, CA 94611 (510) 752-1105 The KFH-Oakland service area includes Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Piedmont. COMMUNITY SNAPSHOT (*county-level data) Total population: Median age:* Average household income:* Percentage living in poverty: Percentage unemployed: Percentage uninsured: 633,114 36.1 $70,217 16.92% 8.92% 14.67% White: Latino: African American: Asian and Pacific Islander: Native American: Other: 32.41% 21.76% 21.12% 19.84% 0.33% 4.55% KEY STATISTICS Year opened: KFH full-time equivalent personnel: KFHP members in KFH service area: 1942 1,884.0 188,929 Total licensed beds: Inpatient days: Emergency room visits: 341 74,218 50,725 KEY LEADERSHIP AT KFH-OAKLAND Nathaniel L. Oubré, Jr. Belia Marshall, RN, MPA Dennis Morris John Loftus, MD Shirley Steinback Julie Hadnot Glenda Monterroza Senior Vice President and Area Manager Chief Operating Officer Area Finance Director Physician in Chief Medical Group Administrator Public Affairs Director Interim Community Benefit/Community Health Manager 227 Consolidated Community Benefit Plan 2012 Kaiser Foundation Hospital – Oakland Northern California Region THE 2010 COMMUNITY HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT SUMMARY AND FINDINGS 2010 COMMUNITY HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT (CHNA) SUMMARY The 2010...
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...Perception/Management Pattern, Nutrition/Metabolic Pattern, Elimination (Environmental Health Concerns), Activity/Exercise Pattern. African Americans make up the single largest racial minorities in the states. Most African Americans are of west and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States. However, some immigrants from African, Caribbean, Central American or South American nations, or their descendants, may be identified or self-identify with the term. Values and belief pattern African American has strong kinship bonds, strong work orientation, strong religious orientation, adaptable family roles, use informal support network – church or community, distrust of government & social services – feel “big brother doesn’t care about us’’, most are assimilated to the Anglo-American culture, take care of their own, don’t like to admit they need help – strong sense of pride, lack of knowledge about available services and how the system works, natural remedies used frequently – laying on of hands and prayer are used to heal, Poverty impacts education, self-esteem, quality of life and lifestyle across the lifespan, seniors are highly respected – aging represents respect, authority and wisdom, tend to keep things hidden within the family system – fear being disgraced or family being disgraced. African American has core values like sharing, expressing personal style, being real and genuine, being assertive, expressing feelings...
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...The Racial Profiling of Minorities for Drugs His name is Ronaldo. He is taking a flight from Los Angeles to New York City for to visit his brother Luis. He has severe asthma problems and has to carry an asthma inhaler with him at all times to prevent the possibility of an asthma attack. As he is going through check-in, a big, muscular white man in a security jacket orders him to step aside and show him his belongings, especially the asthma inhaler he is carrying on grounds that Ronaldo’s asthma inhaler contains cocaine. Like Ronaldo, many minorities are stopped more often at airports and other locations for possession of illegal drugs because of America’s war on drugs. Why specifically does American society target minorities for illegal drugs? Minorities are more likely to be accused of smuggling drugs because they tend to come from enemy countries, have on average a lower socio-economic status, and are very associated with crime in the media. Minorities are more likely to be framed for illegal drug smuggling because of their association with America’s political enemies. Edward Said defines the Orient as America’s “contrasting image, idea, personality, experience” (Said 87). Since the Orient is America’s “contrasting image”, America has always attempted to put an “umbrella of Western hegemony” over the Orient. This is because America, according to Edward Said, views the Far East as something is very strange and different, or “a place of romance, exotic beings, haunting memories...
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...health and awareness of diseases. This public health promotion and health awareness can be spread through several technological enhancements like Internet, newspaper, radio and especially health promotion self explanatory brochures According to American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (2007) Asthma is the number one leading cause of emergency room visit, missed school and work, disability, morbidity, and mortality rate in the United States. Approximately 34.1 million Americans diagnosed with asthma in their lifetime and 3,384 deaths associated to asthma annually. Asthma accounts for 13million missed school days in children and 10.1million missed work days in adults annually. Approximately 500,000 hospitalizations each year because of asthma and about $19.7 billion of both direct and indirect income lost annually. About 217,000emergency room visits and 10.5 million physician office visits are attributed to asthma. Statistics have also shown that approximately 70% of children with asthma have allergy and 40% of children who have asthmatic parents will development asthma and that the number of people with asthma will increase by more than 100 million by year 2025 (American Academy of Allergy asthma & Immunology, 2007).Because of the...
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...current asthma (61.9% female; 54.8% African American; Mage = 34.72, SD = 13.58). Participants were included in the study if they: (1) were between the ages of 18 and 65; (2) met biochemical cutoff values for being a nonsmoker, indexed by an expired carbon monoxide level of (-- removed HTML --) 4 on the Asthma Screening Questionnaire, which is indicative of an asthma diagnosis (Shin et al., 2010). In terms of the racial composition of the sample, 54.8% self-identified as African American, 41.9% as Caucasian, and 3.2% as Other. Only one participant reported Hispanic ethnicity. Participants were, on average, 16.48 (SD = 14.13) years of age when diagnosed with asthma. Nearly 80% of participants reported having experienced at least one asthma attack in the past six months, and 47.6% reported an emergency room or urgent care visit for asthma symptoms in the past six months. Participants reported a mean Asthma Control Test (Nathan et al., 2004) score of 15.98 (SD = 4.54), indicating poorly controlled asthma. Measures Expired carbon monoxide. Smoking status was biochemically...
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...Prevalence of Asthma in a Primary Care Setting Asthma is a major health problem in the United States as stated by the National Institute of Health, twenty- two million Americans have asthma, and nearly 1.8 million emergency room visits a year is the result of an asthma flare-up. Tem million of people missed work days a year because of asthma and the estimated cost are the healthcare is of $19 billion a year. Asthma is a major cause of missed school days for children and parents to missed work because of their children. Many adults and older children have several respiratory infection each year that may them visit the primary care centers; those who suffers from asthma have exacerbation of his or her medical condition because of this reason (Akinbani, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the prevalence of asthma in the Hispanic population and the importance of the recognition of risk factors for asthma symptoms, proper assessment, and treatment in the primary care setting. In order to treat this population is crucial to know their culture, believes, and practices to received their cooperation in the prevention and care of their medical condition. Hispanic population traces their ancestry to countries that were previously under Spanish rule, including Mexico, large part of Central and South American, and some Caribbean islands. Many of the Hispanic have variable proportion of European, Amerindian,...
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...DIRECT CARE EXPERIENCE Accident Prevention and Safety Promotion for Parents and Caregivers of Infant I interviewed a family friend. This African American family consists of two children. One infant age 8 months, and other age 4 years old. The mother is Active Duty Navy, and father is Car Mechanic. Both parents have attended at least 2 years of college. Everyone in the family has Asthma. Parents diagnosed as teen-agers, and children infancy stages. Everyone in the household has asthma medication to take. Parents have “relief inhalers”, Albuterol. This kids have daily medication, Singulair, and rescue inhalers. They’re from New York, but, currently live in Virginia. Virginia is one of the highest states with respiratory infections/diseased populations. When parents viewed pamphlet, they were able to see right away the message of the educational pamphlet. They understood it focused around asthma, interventions and pollution. The dangers of household mold, sitting water, and smoke. They liked the interventions. Some ideas they had never thought of, like, when it rains outside keep windows closed. Any moisture can cause irritation and mucous production. Also, didn’t know there was a web site you can download to your phone to check for air quality. They particularly found that to be a great resource. Being she/mother travels a lot with the Navy. I enjoyed doing this project. I was worried when it was reviewed by my friends. Then, as we were talking, and I was listening, I thought...
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...Running Header: Asthma Paper on Asthma September 10, 2010 Abstract Chronic bronchitis is a preventable disease highly linked to smoking. Once a patient is diagnosed with chronic bronchitis through pulmonary function tests and other exams, it is not curable but there are medications that may help in alleviating symptoms. Chronic bronchitis patients are often referred to as “Blue bloater.” In chronic bronchitis, there is a marked increased in the proliferation of the goblet cells that results in excess mucous production. There is marked inflammation of bronchial mucosa due to infection or chemical inhalation. There is excessive mucus production occurring on most days for at least three consecutive months for two consecutive years. Some medications that are use in the treatment of chronic bronchitis are: adrenergic agents, anticholinergic agents, corticosteroids agents and antibiotics. Since there is no cure for chronic bronchitis at the present time, the prognosis is fair in regards to when the diagnosis is made. If detected early enough steps can be taken to prevent further damages to the lungs. Smoking cessation is a key factor in stopping the progression of the disease. Pulmonary rehabilitation including exercise training and education about the disease and the harmful effect of smoking is an essential component of chronic bronchitis therapy. Paper on Chronic Bronchitis Introduction Chronic Bronchitis belongs to a part of a larger group of diseases called...
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...Asthma March 21, 2011 Anatomy & Physiology II Asthma Asthma is a chronic lung disease that affects more than twenty two million people in the United States, with more than six million of them being children. Asthma inflames and constricts airways, which are the tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. When these airways are inflamed and constricted the result is shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. Airways that are inflamed are extremely sensitive and tend to react strongly to certain inhaled substances. The chain reaction of muscles tightening around the airways, inflammation, and increased mucus production typically result in asthma symptoms. Asthma is a serious disease that without proper diagnosis, management and treatment could be fatal. Causes According to the National Health Institute, the exact cause of asthma is still not known. Researchers think that some genetic and environmental factors interact to cause asthma. Some genetic factors that are believed to play a role in asthma are an inherited tendency to develop allergies, or atopy, and having parents with an asthma diagnosis. While there appears to be a genetic link, environmental factors play an important role in asthma as well. Viral infections in infants appear to have a role in the development of asthma. Most babies will experience wheezing due to a viral infection at some point, but not all will develop asthma. The common viruses that cause wheezing are RSV, Parainfluenza...
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...Wright). Normally, people that live in low income neighborhoods will experience a disproportionately high amount of pollution compared to those living in high income neighborhoods (Morello-Frosch). Therefore, parks, trees, and outdoor recreational areas tend to be located in wealthy neighborhoods. Consequently, minority and poor neighborhoods tend to have the lowest ratios of parks-to-people (Carter). This means that there is a low amount of park space per 10,000 people. Other research shows that even if we ignore the level of income, minority neighborhoods, such as African American and Hispanic neighborhoods, will still experience higher levels of pollution than white neighborhoods (Bullard and Wright). Thus, by looking at both race and social class we can point out the communities that enjoy the availability of parks and trees or suffer from the pollution from industrial facilities. According to Majora Carter, an American urban revitalization strategist, the South Bronx in New York City is known as a low-income Latino and Black...
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...Certain properties in marijuana helps fight the painful symptoms that plague people who have certain diseases. Epilepsy is a disease in which there is a malfunction in the brain that causes people who have the disease to have frequent seizures which causes pain. A component of marijuana, known as cannabidiol, reduces the frequency of seizures by more than 50 percent (Becker). As I talked about earlier, marijuana has a positive effect on its users’ lungs. People who suffer from asthma can see a huge increase in their ability to breathe if they begin to use marijuana. Studies show that marijuana has a dilating effect on human lungs which helps people with asthma breathe better (Becker). Everyone knows the painful side effects that come with the disease HIV/AIDS. Studies show that people with HIV/AIDS who smoked marijuana were found to eat better, sleep better, gain weight, experience better a mood and have less neuropathic pain than those who don’t (Becker). Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disease that effects brain function and can lead to loss of memory, depression, aggression and anxiety. There has been some research done that has shown that weed slows down the production of beta-amyloid proteins, which scientists think are the main contributors to the progression of Alzheimer’s (Becker). Multiple...
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