Asthma

Asthma is a serious chronic disease of the air passages of the lungs. With asthma the air passages are inflamed (similar to sunburned) and they sometimes narrow when they are in contact with allergens, dust particles, odors or other things to which a person is sensitive.

Asthma causes missed work and school days, emergency room and hospital visits and even death. There is no cure for asthma but asthma can be controlled. This Web site contains helpful information for the control of asthma.

The goal of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Asthma Program is to reduce the effects of asthma on the residents of Ohio. There are two primary ways the program does this. One is by supporting the development of the Ohio Asthma Coalition and participating in its activities. The other is by developing the Ohio Surveillance System for Asthma. Some activities of the program are

• Development of data regarding asthma mortality and morbidity in Ohio.
• Development of the Ohio Asthma Coalition.
• School environmental management.
• Technical assistance to local health departments and partner organizations.
• Response to general inquiries from the public.
• Participation in the Ohio Indoor Air Quality Coalition.
• Asthma! Is your Company at Risk? – a course helping employers manage work-related asthma.
• Coordination of resource identification and development of materials such as Managing Asthma in Ohio Child Care Facilities: A Resource Guide, published in spring 2004.
• Presentations and workshops for many groups and organizations in Ohio.
• Technical support of local/regional asthma coalitions in Cleveland, Dayton, Toledo, Columbus and Cincinnati.

The Asthma Program is supported by Grant/Cooperative Agreement Number U59/CCU523179 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The content of the Web site is solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of CDC.

Mailing Address:
Ohio Department of Health
Asthma Program
246 N. High Street, 5th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215

Telephone: (614) 466-1390
Fax: (614) 466-4556

E-mail: beh@odh.ohio.gov

Last Updated: 4/15/05