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The Asthma Foundation and Tom Joyner Morning Show Join Forces to ``Get A.H.E.A.D. Of Asthma''

Posted on: Monday, 10 September 2007, 12:00 CDT

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) today announced a joint effort with the Tom Joyner Morning Show to educate the African-American community about asthma control and to engage them in activities to educate others. As part of this program, AAFA will be reminding African-American adults with asthma, and parents of children with asthma, to "Get A.H.E.A.D. of Asthma" by having more effective conversations with their doctors about proper asthma control.

Tom Joyner's annual "Take A Loved One To The Doctor Day," taking place this year on Tuesday, September 18th, is a combined national radio broadcast/grassroots consumer event devoted to health issues impacting the African-American community.

Today, African-Americans have a higher asthma prevalence than white Americans and are three times more likely to be hospitalized from asthma. Yet, African-American children are not using proper long-term controller medications nearly as much (44%) as white children (74%), and deaths due to asthma are far more frequent in the African-American population. In some cities, the asthma death rate for blacks is nearly 5 times higher than that for whites.

"Given the impact asthma has on our African-American community, anything we can do to encourage people affected by asthma to go to their doctor and engage in the most informative conversation they can will be of great help," said Randall Brown, MD, MPH, Research Director and Partner at Georgia Pediatric Pulmonology Associates and Adjunct Associate Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. "The 'Get A.H.E.A.D. of Asthma' initiative provides patients with the tools they need to better understand asthma control and provide the kind of information to their physicians that will help them determine the best treatment option."

AAFA's "Get A.H.E.A.D. of Asthma" campaign focuses on educating patients to better communicate with their physicians about asthma control. The campaign was launched in March of this year after results from a national survey commissioned by AAFA revealed that asthma patients and their primary care physicians may not always speak the same language when it comes to discussing asthma control.

According to the Harris Interactive® survey results, 66% of the primary care physicians (PCPs) who were surveyed feel that their definition of asthma control differs from that of their patients, while a more optimistic 25% of patients say they and their physicians have a different definition. While the majority of PCPs (80%) say that they discuss asthma control with their patients on a regular basis, asthma patients report that the meaning of asthma control is discussed during a typical visit a surprisingly low 11% of the time. The "Get A.H.E.A.D. of Asthma" campaign helps empower patients by giving them tools to understand what key information they need to track at home. This information helps them to be more prepared for their visits to their physicians' office and enables physicians to provide a comprehensive assessment of their patients' asthma.

"Through our survey we found that doctors tend to review quantitative, clinical factors during a typical office visit, while patients tend to place a heavier emphasis on the 'qualitative' dimension of the disease and how it impacts their daily life," said Mike Tringale, Director of External Affairs at AAFA. "Our 'Get A.H.E.A.D. of Asthma' campaign is designed to provide patients with tools they need to have open discussions with their doctors about their asthma and the way it affects their life. Together, a patient and their doctor can create a roadmap to determine how to get their asthma under control."

AAFA will be at ``Take A Loved One To The Doctor Day'', giving patients the opportunity to have face-to-face conversations with nurses and receive educational materials. For those patients who are unable to attend they can go to www.getaheadofasthma.com for helpful information. The site offers a downloadable brochure which gives a full 'conversation roadmap' to help patients answer and ask the right questions about asthma control.

The joint effort between AAFA and the Tom Joyner Morning Show is part of a larger educational initiative made possible by support from Merck & Co., Inc. to encourage African-American patients to better understand their asthma and get it under control. The partnership also includes sponsorship of Tom Joyner's local market Sky Shows and the BlackAmericaWeb.com website.

About Tom Joyner and ``Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day''

Tom Joyner is a nationally syndicated radio and television personality, philanthropist and entrepreneur whose morning show is heard in more than 120 markets by nearly eight million listeners each week. Known as the "hardest working man in radio," Joyner is a 1999 Radio Hall of Fame inductee, an NAACP President's Award winner and was bestowed with the prestigious Marconi Award for Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year in 2004. In conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services, this initiative created by Tom Joyner in 2002 features events in virtually every state. ``Take A Loved One to the Doctor Day'' is designed to reduce the health disparity between African-Americans and the general population; improve access to culturally relevant health care information; better educate members of the African-American community regarding the benefits of prevention and treatment of serious diseases and create accountability in the African-American community to take a more active role in encouraging loved ones to seek health care. While events and on-air activities will be taking place throughout the month of September, the official ''Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day'' is Tuesday, September 18. For more information on ``Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day'', visit www.BlackAmericaWeb.com.

About the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), a not-for-profit organization founded in 1953, is the leading patient organization for people with asthma and allergies. AAFA provides practical information, community based services and support through a national network of chapters and groups. AAFA develops health education, organizes state and national advocacy efforts and funds research to find better treatments and cures. For more than 55 years, AAFA has been a leader in fiscal responsibility and charity management. AAFA is a member of the most respected nonprofit industry groups and subscribes to the highest ethical standards.

Source: Business Wire

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