California Breathing

Resources

Asthma QuickTake: Medications

This Asthma QuickTake discusses asthma controller and quick relief medications, the purposes for which they are used, and the devices used to take the medications.  It also provides information on how to determine whether a person’s asthma is under control. 

Strategic Plan for Asthma in California

• Strategic Plan for Asthma in California, 2015 - 2019 (PDF)
• Strategic Plan for Asthma in California - Fact Sheets (PDF)

​Asthma in California Report

Two reports are available. The 2017 report focuses on asthma prevalence, whereas the 2013 report is comprehensive (includes asthma prevalence, disparities, morbidity, mortality, environmental triggers, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, work-related asthma, and national goals). Also available for download are slides that summarize report findings and provide easy-to-use graphs and charts. Reports include the following:

Report Materials

• Asthma in California: A Surveillance Report (PDF, 2017) - asthma prevalence in California
  
• If you would like an electronic copy of  Asthma in California: A Surveillance Report (2013), providing a comprehensive picture of asthma in California, or an accompanying slide show or fact sheet, please contact us at California.Breathing@cdph.ca.gov.
  

Report Key Findings

Overall asthma prevalence

• Approximately 5.2 million Californians have asthma
• In 2014, 13.8% of adults and 13.7% of children had been diagnosed with asthma at some point in their lives (lifetime asthma); 8.1% of adults and 9.4% of children had current asthma
• Asthma prevalence has not changed significantly since 2001

Asthma prevalence among different populations

• Asthma prevalence among school-aged children (5–17 years) is 20–40% higher than among adults
• Among adults, both lifetime and current asthma prevalence are higher for females than males
• Gay/lesbian and bisexual men and women have 40–60% higher asthma prevalence than straight men and women
• Hispanics and Asians born in the U.S. are more than twice as likely to have current or lifetime asthma as Hispanics and Asians born outside of the U.S.
• On average, people with asthma are exposed to 2–3 asthma triggers in the home; about 10% of adults and 5% of children with current asthma are exposed to secondhand smoke in the home

Asthma prevalence by race/ethnicity

• Asthma prevalence among American Indians/Alaskan Natives is more than 40% higher than among Whites
• Asthma prevalence among Blacks is about 30% higher than among Whites
• Asthma prevalence varies among Hispanic subgroups; lifetime asthma prevalence ranges from 35.8% among Puerto Ricans (2.3 times higher than among Whites) to 6.5% among South Americans
• Asthma prevalence also varies among Asian subgroups; lifetime asthma prevalence ranges from 16.9% among Filipinos to 5.7% among Koreans

Asthma Action Plans

Action plans in 5 languages - Regional Asthma Management & Prevention 

Asthma Education for Childcare and Preschool Staff

• Video
• Guidelines, Chapter 1 (PDF)
• Guidelines, Chapter 2 (PDF)
• Guidelines, Chapter 3 (PDF)
• Guidelines, Chapter 4 (PDF)
  

CDPH Links