Blacks Get Poor Asthma Care Compared To Whites, Study Shows

Jet, July 23, 2001

A new study of adults in managed care plans finds the care given to Blacks who suffer from asthma, falls short of standards set for treating the condition compared with care received by Whites.

The study showed fewer Blacks reported care consistent with the guidelines set under the National Asthma and Education Prevention Program. It revealed that:

Thirty-five percent of Black patients reported using inhaled corticosteroids daily, compared with 54 percent of White patients.

Twenty-eight percent of Blacks said they were seeing a specialist for asthma, compared to 41 percent of Whites.

Thirty-eight percent of Blacks said they were given enough information about avoiding asthma triggers, compared to 54 percent of Whites.

According to the researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Blacks are more likely to suffer from severe asthma symptoms.

The study was done because little was known about the relationship of gender and race to the condition. Almost 15 million Americans suffer from asthma, a disease in which swelling and excess mucus in the airways blocks the flow of air in the lungs.

"We need to further investigate whether the differences were due to how doctors and other professionals provide care, how care is accepted or received by different patients, or how a health system provides its care," said Dr. Jerry Krishnan, the lead author of the study.