Department of Health launches ‘Control Asthma’ campaign

A new public service campaign recently launched identifying common asthma triggers and providing simple activities that parents can incorporate into their routines to help their children manage their asthma, the Hawaii Department of Health announced.

The “Control Asthma” campaign is slated to run through June 2023 and includes radio, digital, social media, and mall advertisements statewide. Each month, the campaign will feature a common source that can trigger an asthma attack.

According to 2020 data from the Hawaii Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1 in 13 children in Hawaii, or 7.7 percent, currently have asthma, which is higher than the national average (7.5 percent).

In 2019, about 689 emergency department visits and 66 hospitalizations in Hawaii were for asthma among children aged 0 to 4 years.

“Anyone with asthma can have an asthma attack when exposed to a trigger,” said Dr. Brian Wu, Medicaid Medical Director at HMSA and Pediatric Pulmonologist at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children in a news release. “Asthma triggers vary from person to person, such as respiratory infections and environmental factors. It’s important for everyone in Hawaii, especially parents, to identify the triggers that can make asthma worse. Common environmental triggers include roaches, dust mites, mold, secondhand smoke, and vaping.”

Other common asthma triggers include bad weather, vog, air pollution and other airborne irritants, health conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, exercise, some medicines, strong emotions, and respiratory infections, such as those linked to influenza, colds, and respiratory syncytial virus.

“In addition to helping parents identify and control asthma triggers, the campaign encourages parents to have an ‘Asthma Action Plan’ for their child,” said Lola Irvin, DOH Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Division Administrator.

The campaign website can be found on Control Asthma.hawaii.gov.