Social Workers: Patient Asthma Management

Studies have shown that the asthma burden falls disproportionately on people in a poor socio-economic status. Asthma rates are rapidly increasing for children in this group.

• Be sure your clients are receiving proper medial care. Clients identified with asthma should have a minimum of two physician visits per year to control asthma.
  

• Provide asthma information when administering vaccines and immunizations. Provide the general public information about environmental asthma triggers along with information on how to reduce environmental asthma triggers . IDEM has created an evidence-based list of Environmental Asthma Triggers and fact sheets for each of them. For a quick-reference, provide IDEM’s Top 10 Ways to Reduce Asthma Triggers at Home. IDEM has also created Computer and Additional Web Resources that can be printed and handed out to interested parties.
  

• Provide smoking cessation education for patients when necessary. Active/passive smoking is the most important irritant asthma trigger. Encourage patients not to smoke. Visit the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation for information.