Summary
Childhood asthma is a prevalent and costly chronic condition. Optimal management enables secondary and tertiary prevention. The goal was to identify population health considerations for pediatric asthma in California to inform the development of quality improvement interventions.
The study assessed factors related to symptom control and health care use in children ages 2–11 years with asthma using California Health Interview Survey data from 2011–2012. Authors found an estimated 492,385 (9.6%) of children in California currently have asthma. School-age male children as well as Asian and African American children are disproportionately affected. Asthma causes significant morbidity, with poorer health status, high utilization of emergency care, and the need for daily medication use. Only 38% of children with asthma have a recent asthma management plan. Half of all children with asthma did not receive influenza immunization in the past year, although this reflects the overall low rate of influenza vaccination. Focusing on improved care coordination and preventive care for high-risk groups is especially urgent given the expansion of public health insurance and impending shortages in the primary care workforce.
