Asthma, Health and Society

Book excerpt: Asthma, Health, and Society A Public Health Perspective Edited by Andrew Harver, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte Harry Kotses, Ohio University, Athens Asthma, Health, and Society is a comprehensive, current resource on this complex disease—its scope, human costs, and management—from a combined social ecology/public health perspective. This important and unique book proposes a concerted, multifaceted response and sets out the foundation for shaping this response, comprising individual and large-scale assessment, education, advocacy, and multiple forms of intervention. In clear, authoritative detail enhanced by figures, graphs, and references, contributors explain where universal standards need to be set, alliances need to be built (such as among agencies and institutions in a community), and what is currently known about: Pathophysiology, epidemiology, and social impact of asthma. Genetic and environmental factors; protective factors and risk markers. Effects in women, minorities, children, teens, and elders. Medical management, self-management, and home monitoring. Evidence-based interventions at the family, school, and community levels. Screening guidelines, compliance issues, and more. In the absence of a cure or clear-cut causes, Asthma, Health, and Society offers the most robust compilation of practical knowledge on its subject to benefit the range of public health and asthma professionals, researchers, teachers, and students