Asthma Prevention and Control
Asthma is a common disease affecting the lungs. There is no cure for asthma, but it can be controlled. With treatment, a person with asthma can live an active life. If left untreated, asthma can severely impact a person’s life.
Asthma affects the airways in the lungs. People with asthma have airways that are extra sensitive to different things in the environment such as cigarette smoke, dust mites and mold. When people with asthma breathe in these things, their airways become inflamed and swollen. Air can’t get through the airways and it is harder to breathe.
Asthma is a chronic disease. It is a lifelong condition that can cause permanent damage if it is not treated properly. Asthma is not contagious, but it often runs in families that have a history of asthma and allergies. Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood and the number one reason why children miss school.
Programs Impacting Asthma
Missouri Tobacco Quitline
Access to counseling, information and referrals for smokers who want to quit using tobacco.
Missouri School Health
Access to programs, resources, and guidelines to improve the health of children
Missouri Environmental Public Health Tracking
Access to environmental data, information, and resources
About Us
Established in 2001, the Missouri Asthma Prevention and Control Program (MAPCP) links schools, communities, providers and health plans to provide and build comprehensive statewide asthma control systems through school nurse training and care coordination, improving health care quality through guidelines-based care, and home environment assessments and improvements. Integrating clinical care and public health yields strong partnerships and innovative interventions for improved asthma outcomes in the pediatric population. Continued improvement in systems of care and changes in policy have improved the quality of life and decreased direct and indirect economic losses attributed to asthma. The MAPCP is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is a part of the National Asthma Control Program.
Mission
MAPCP continues the mission of reducing the impact of asthma in Missouri.
The Initiative
CCARE: Controlling Childhood Asthma Reducing Emergencies – the goal of this Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiative is to reduce 500,000 emergency department visits and hospitalization in children with asthma younger than age 18 in 5 years by focusing on evidence-based asthma interventions