Occhealth Bulletin
12 May 2009
News Review - May 2009
Category: Reviews
The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) raises awareness of asthma through its annually celebrated World Asthma Day – this year the event was held on May 5th. The aim of the event is to “raise awareness about asthma and improve asthma care throughout the world” and each year takes on a theme. This year saw the theme ‘You can control your asthma’ with a focus on young children. The day also marked the start of Asthma Awareness Month – an initiative supported worldwide.
To support the cause and raise awareness about asthma, the US Environmental Protection Agency set up a specific page from its website so that organizations and educational institutions can plan and run effective educational events throughout the month. The page includes planning tools, case studies and ideas on how to run successful events.
Putting this in context, over 16 million adults suffer from asthma in the USA alone which often causes debilitating symptoms such as wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath. There are many triggers of asthma including grass and tree pollen and workplace factors such as isocyanates, dust from flour, grain, wood and latex rubber, and soldering fumes. To learn more about asthma causes and prevention go to the American Lung Association website www.lungusa.org/. To learn more about occupational asthma and the resources available to employers and occupational health professionals, see Examinetics, Inc. Pathfinder entitled ‘Asthma’.
For further news from the world of occupational health, read our news review bulletins from the Examinetics, Inc. website (www.examinetics.com).