President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children. Coordinated Federal Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Asthma Disparities.

摘要

Approximately 7 million children aged 0 to 17 in the United States have asthma, with poor and minority children suffering a greater burden of the disease. Asthma persists into adulthood and the costs to society are high: medical expenses associated with asthma are estimated to be $50 billion annually. It is critical that we promote synergy across the numerous federal programs that affect asthma management in order to reduce this burden and these disparities. The magnitude of the problem of asthma disparities and the breadth of stakeholder involvement required to address it will necessitate enhancing the interagency coordination of partnerships that many of our federal programs already have with state and local health departments, nonprofit organizations, community asthma coalitions and asthma foundations. Preventable factors related to effective asthma management are well established. Coordinating our federal efforts will help us take appropriate actions to better address these known preventable factors in underserved populations.