CDC's National Asthma Control Program

CDC created the National Asthma Control Program in 1999. The program supports the goals and objectives of Healthy People 2010 for asthma and is based on the following three public health principles:

• Tracking:collecting and analyzing data on an ongoing basis to understand the "who, what, and where" of asthma
• Interventions:ensuring that scientific information is translated into public health practices and programs to reduce the burden of asthma
• Partnerships:ensuring that all stakeholders have the opportunity to be involved in developing, implementing, and evaluating local asthma control programs

The goals of the program are to reduce the number of deaths, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, school or work days missed, and limitations on activity due to asthma.

With appropriations of $35.2 million in fiscal year 2002, CDC funded 11 asthma tracking projects, 48 asthma interventions, and 33 asthma partnership projects under its National Asthma Control Program for activities to be conducted in 2003. CDC also funded six urban school districts, one state education agency, and six national nongovernment organizations to support and address asthma control within a coordinated school health program.

Major Data Collection Systems

CDC supports a number of major asthma data collection efforts, including (1) collection of state-level adult asthma prevalence rates for detailed subgroups in 50 states, 3 territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands), and Washington, D.C., through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey; (2) collection of data on days of restricted activity, days in bed, days of work or school lost, physician visits, and hospitalizations due to asthma through the National Health Interview Survey; and (3) collection of in-depth state and local asthma data through development and testing of a National Asthma Survey module in Alabama, California, Illinois, New York, and Texas. See the "Data" section at https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/asthmadata.htm for more information.