Asthma Questionnaire for an Immigrant Chinese Population
Abstract
Asthma is a key public health problem for the pediatric population of the United States. 7 million children in the United States have been diagnosed with asthma at some point in their lives (1). Asthma remains a disease that occurs in higher rates among minority populations. Those living in inner-city environments are most at risk. A study performed in an inner-city area of Boston, MA showed that 16% of an Asian American school age population had previously diagnosed asthma with an additional 3% having possible undiagnosed asthma (2). Northeast Medical Services (NEMS), a federally qualified community health center (FQHC), serves the medically underserved Asian population in San Francisco. The two biggest neighborhood it serves, Chinatown and Portola, have large Asian populations. For example, 84% of households in Chinatown speak an Asian language. Of those households, 84% are linguistically isolated (3). Due to language and cultural barriers, general asthma knowledge is lacking leading to poor self-management practices. The goal of asthma treatment is to control the disease and minimize its impact on daily living. The ability of patients to self-manage their Asthma is a critical part of any treatment plan.
