Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #110183

Galatea C. King, MPH, Julie Von Behren, MPH, Victoria Nelson, MPH, Jamila Stockman, MPH, Rick Kreutzer, MD, and Barbara I. Cowan, MPH. California Breathing, Environmental Health Investigations Branch, California Department of Health Services, 1515 Clay Street, Suite 1700, Oakland, CA 94612, (510) 622-4475, gking1@dhs.ca.gov

Asthma-related health indicators vary significantly from county to county in California. California Breathing identified county- and local-level asthma advocate's requests for local data and responded by creating county-specific asthma profiles.

The profiles contain prevalence, hospitalization, mortality, and associated risk-factor data. Healthy People 2010 targeted goals for hospitalization rates are also presented and compared to county and state estimates. We obtained data from the following sources: prevalence data from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey and the 2001 California Behavioral Risk Factor Survey; hospitalization data from the 2002 Patient Discharge Database; asthma mortality counts from the Office of Vital Statistics; and outdoor air pollutant data from the California Air Resources Board.

Statewide, the asthma hospitalization rate is 10.2 [10.1-10.3 95% confidence interval (CI)] per 10,000. Hospitalization rates for all ages by county range from 3.6 (1.5-6.4 95% CI) per 10,000 in Mono County to 15.0 (13.2-17.0 95% CI) per 10,000 in Imperial County. Disparities in race/ethnicity are noted by county. Asthma prevalence, work-related asthma rates, and air pollutant levels also varied among counties.

Providing localized data is a useful function of a statewide surveillance program. Compiling and consolidating available asthma statistics in one place assists local health advocates with development of effective interventions and educational materials specific to the populations they serve.

The county profiles will be made available on our website along with technical notes and comparison tables. Based on the use of these profiles by multiple stakeholders will help us determine the potential use for an interactive data warehouse.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participants will be able to

• List which asthma indicators are important to county and local-level advocates.
• Identify the data sources available for asthma surveillance in California.
• Describe the range in hospitalization rates and prevalence rates for California’s counties.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.