• April 25, 2012
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SAVE THE DATE: Asthma Awareness Month Webinars

It takes a team effort to help the one in 12 Americans with asthma breathe easier. That’s why this May—for World Asthma Day (May 1) and Asthma Awareness Month 2012—the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP), coordinated by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute—National Institutes of Health, calls on you to rally with asthma stakeholders to promote written asthma action plans as a key part of a comprehensive approach to improving asthma care and control.

Yes, asthma can be controlled. But it takes an entire community to create the kind of support and environments that help the growing number of Americans with asthma, especially those shouldering the greatest burden. Take a look at some of the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• In 2001, 1 in 14 people (20 million) had asthma. Eight years later, it’s 1 in 12 (25 million).
• In 2009, 1 in 10 children (about 7 million) had asthma.
• Asthma continues to be more common among women than men.  It's also more common in children, non-Hispanic blacks, Puerto Ricans, people living below the poverty level, and people in the Northeast and Midwest.
• Asthma accounted for 10.5 million missed school days and 14.2 million lost workdays in 2008.
• U.S. asthma costs—both direct and indirect—grew from about $53 billion in 2002 to about $56 billion in 2007, nearly a 6 percent increase.

What can you do? Sign up for the NAEPP/NACI May webinars to learn how asthma action plans, when taken with five other key actions, can help all people with asthma live without limits.

WEBINAR 1: Regional Perspectives: Bridging Asthma Disparities through Education

Tuesday, May 8, 2012
12:00-1:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Sign-up page

Presenters:

• James P. Kiley, Ph.D.—Director, Division of Lung Diseases; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH; Bethesda, MD
• Michael Lenoir, M.D.—Allergist and Pediatrician; CEO and host of the Ethnic Health America Network; Oakland, CA
• Michelle M. Cloutier, M.D. (East Region)—Pediatric Pulmonologist, Asthma Center, Connecticut Children's Medical Center; Hartford, CT
• Michael Cabana, M.D., M.P.H. (West Region)—Chief, Division of General Pediatrics; University of California, San Francisco, CA
• Michael B. Foggs, M.D. (Midwest Region)— Chief of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology for Advocate Health Centers of Advocate Health Care, and immediate past-chair of the National Medical Association's Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Section; Chicago, IL
• Leroy Graham, M.D. (South Region)—Pediatric Pulmonologist, Georgia Pediatric Pulmonology Associates, and founder and medical director of Not One More Life, a faith-based asthma initiative; Atlanta, GA

Stay tuned for details about a second webinar—Asthma and Physical Activity in the School—to continue the focus on use of AAPs during Asthma Awareness Month.

Also, watch for a new World Asthma Day page on the NAEPP’s National Asthma Control Initiative (NACI) Web site: It will provide you with information and resources that you can use to help someone with asthma.

And don’t forget to sign up for the quarterly NACI In the Know eNewsletter.