Preventing Asthma Morbidity in the Informed Society

Deaths due to asthma continue to occur despite the medical community and the public having a greater awareness of its existence. Asthma is identified when the bronchial tubes constrict to such an extent that a person is unable to take in sufficient oxygen.1 Well known signs and symptoms include coughing, wheezing, and periods of shortness of breath. At present, most industrialized societies are able to access health information and education with an ease that was unknown in the past.

Especially in the current climate of rapid advancements with Internet technology there is a wealth of health and well-being information and access to public health resources. Also most council libraries are open to the public and modern day media and advertising seek to 'educate' consumers as a way to further their leverage. Additionally, primary care workers are making large scale attempts to use behavioural modification techniques, encouraging those who experience asthma to make better lifestyle choices; for example, to stop smoking or to avoid pollution. To date all of the above measures appear to have been mostly unsuccessful.

Although it is the decision of the person who experiences asthma to make the decision to adopt lifestyle changes, it seems that external factors exist which constrain their access to health information, and perhaps also, limiting the access to information of primary care workers.¹

A common cited factor is the socio-economic (SES) status of the person with asthma. It is becoming clearer that inequalities in access to health resources can significantly impact on an individual's life chances.² When a person does not own a computer, or is unable to afford an Internet connection; they are not in a position to access a wide variety of up-to-date information. Additionally, for those persons who are unfamiliar with the use of a computer and/or Internet, the availability of such resources at a public library will not be of use to them.