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Health Science Report | Asthma In Australia

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Added on  2020-02-24

Health Science Report | Asthma In Australia

   Added on 2020-02-24

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Health Science2socio-cultural, biological, and environmental factors that impact health and diseasePrevention of morbidity and mortality from asthma in Australia is a National Health Priority. Asthma caused 416 deaths in Australia in the year 2010. At 1.6/100,000 people, the rate is higher than that of international figures [ CITATION Goe13 \l 16393 ]. Treatment modalities have undergone a big change and more effective treatment is now available. Asthma can be managed better and there is therapy for prevention of the condition. The socio-cultural causes of the high mortality due to asthma need to be assessed. The biological and environmental factors that continue to cause deaths due to asthma also need to be evaluated.The availability of inhaler medication has brought about revolution in the management and treatment of asthma. The inhalers are able to deliver the right amount of a small dose of medication right upto the lungs and quickly control the symptoms of asthma. Ina study that surveyed the status of asthma in 2686 patients, it was found that asthma was well controlled in 54.4% of the study participants and was not well controlled in 22.7%. 60.8% of the respondents used a preventer medication that was combined inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β2-agonist through the previous year. This shows that morbidity can be reduced if compliance with taking preventer is 100% so that the disease can be managed better[ CITATION Red15 \l 16393 ].Several causes related to mortality due to asthma have been found to be preventable or modifiable. Causes that exacerbate the incidence of asthma and poor management of the disease include inadequate therapy, smoking and alcohol intake, disrupted families and psychiatric disorders. Disadvantaged people in the society who suffer from inequity, psychosocial issues, poor health literacy and isolation from society. Several asthma patients among people living in remote and rural areas are reported to have died due to poor access to
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Health Science3emergency care. Use of drugs has been identified as a reason for death in patients of asthma because the influence of drugs makes it difficult for them to identify a situation that requires emergency medical treatment and the risk to life due to asthma remains unnoticed. The use ofalcohol may not aggravate asthma but the presence of sulfites can aggravate a condition if thepatient is susceptible. Rapid onset of asthma due to exposure to certain allergens can prove tobe fatal in some cases [ CITATION Goe13 \l 16393 ] Allergens also increase the risk of infectionsin patients with slow onset asthma.Mortality due to asthma is more likely when patients are living alone, are disengaged socially and have mental health issues. The mental illnesses could be bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, personality disorder or anxiety. Such patients are less likely to take medication regularly and may have severe symptoms due to neglect of the problem for a long time [ CITATION Goe13 \l 16393 ].Smoking among adolescents in the indigenous population of Australia is a major risk factor for those diagnosed with asthma. Although overall rates of smoking have declined in Australia, but the rate of smoking among Indigenous people in Australia has been disproportionately high, at 17.5% against a percentage of 10.1% for non-indigenous Australians [ CITATION McC17 \l 16393 ]. Asthma outcomes among the indigenous people are rather poor due to smoking and they are deemed more likely to die due to asthma.Exposure to allergens in the environment can cause asthma. Exposure to asthmagens among the workforce at their work place could also cause asthma. In a study on occupational exposure to 277 asthmagens, 4878 participants were surveyed. Among the men, exposure to bioaerosols and metals was 29% and 27% respectively. While women were exposed to latex and industrial cleaning agents and sterilizing agents [ CITATION Fri16 \l 16393 ]
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