New Mexico Department of Health Reports Nearly 8,000 Emergency Department Visits Annually Due to Asthma
New Mexico Department of Health Reports Nearly 8,000 Emergency Department Visits Annually Due to Asthma
May is Asthma Awareness Month
The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) reports uncontrolled asthma leads to nearly 8,000 emergency department visits every year, according to data collected and analyzed from Asthma Emergency Department Visits (2008-2016) by the NMDOH Epidemiology and Response Division (ERD).
During National Asthma Awareness Month this May, the NMDOH urges New Mexicans to learn about asthma control and the variety of approaches NMDOH and its partners deliver to help improve and sustain asthma control services throughout the state.
“Wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing are serious asthma symptoms,” said Department of Health Cabinet Secretary Kathy Kunkel. “Although asthma cannot be cured, it is possible to manage the disease by reducing and preventing asthma-related hospitalizations.”
The department’s ERD works to provide online public health information on asthma and air quality education for New Mexico communities in several ways:
- The Asthma Control Program develops strategies with communities and health systems to improve and expand the reach of comprehensive asthma control services.
- Our Environmental Public Health Tracking Program provides searchable data for asthma and air quality and health education:
- View Environmental Public Health Tracking - Asthma Data for specific asthma data.
- In addition, Environmental Public Health Tracking - Fire and Smoke provides guidance for New Mexicans during wildland fires, prescribed burns and smoky days.
- Also offered is the Asthma in Hispanic Children - Photo Voice Project documented on the NMDOH YouTube channel to assess the views and perspectives of Spanish-speaking households in New Mexico impacted by asthma. The findings of the project are helping health professionals understand barriers to asthma control and identify potential activities to reduce the number of annual emergency visits due to asthma.
For asthma related questions, please visit the Asthma Control Program.
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