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Approximately 20 million Americans have asthma, so it is no surprise that it is one of the better known diseases in the country. Despite this, asthma was only marginally on the public's radar as recently as 30 years ago, and education for the disease did not become a priority until mortality rates began to rise unrelentingly in the '80s, according to Carla Keirns, MD, PhD, a research fellow at the University of Michigan School of Medicine who is completing a book on the history of asthma in the United States.
"[Medical professionals] were saying 'Wow, the future's filled with chronic diseases that we can't fix in a hospital, so we better figure out how to improve peoples' health habits and improve the ability to manage those diseases,'" Dr. Keirns noted. "This was especially true of asthma, a disease that, if somebody gets good care and prevention, really shouldn't lead people to be hospitalized or to die of it."
It would be impossible to touch on all of the educational landmarks, but after consulting with several experts, we compiled a list of 10 of the biggest ones.
For more on the latest web-based asthma education program, Puff City, read our top story "Key to the City: Web-based program aims to improve asthma education for urban teens."
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