Asthma

What We Do › Asthma

“Without a doubt, our involvement with this partnership radically improved the way we deal with children who have asthma. In the past, we basically provided emergency care when our patients had a severe attack. Of course we still do that, but now we also treat asthma more proactively by teaching patients and their families how they can help prevent attacks by using nebulizers and making lifestyle changes such as avoiding things—cigarette smoke and pets, for example—that can trigger asthma.”

Dr. Munira Baizhanova, chief pediatric pulmonologist, Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan, and chairperson of the Republican Institute for Pediatrics and Children’s Surgery’s pulmonology department (Almaty/Tucson partnership)

Many nations throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia have experienced a marked increase in cases of asthma over the past decade due to escalating rates of air pollution and tobacco use, among other things. Living with a chronic disease can be a huge challenge for many people, especially if they don’t understand their ailment or know what they can do to effectively manage it. For people with asthma, the fear of what can trigger an acute attack—a dusty stack of books, a brisk walk to the corner store, a playful pet, or even a summer breeze—is ever-present.

Changing the mindset of patients suffering from asthma—and many of the healthcare practitioners who treat them—is an objective of many AIHA partnerships. Educating patients and their families to adopt a proactive approach to treatment and prevention by using Western protocols and incorporating lifestyle changes geared to reduce attacks are the mainstays of the programs that result from the efforts of our partners. Instruction about clinical interventions, self-administered therapies, and preventive measures can make a world of difference in quality of life for asthma patients.

Projects

AIHA's efforts to improve asthma-related care through specific programmatic activities include:

Asthma Information Resources

Disseminating accurate, timely information rooted in evidence-based practices and sharing successful models and lessons learned plays an important role in AIHA's strategy for sustainable healthcare programs. For more information about asthma, please visit the following links:

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