Asthma- An Environmental Affair!

Mott Hall I –71 Convent Avenue

New York City

Ms. Armstrong

7^th Grade Health

INTRODUCTION:

Asthma is a major health problem in New York City. The number of cases has steadily risen over the past number of years until today it is considered an epidemic. According to recent studies, as many as 25% of the children in East Harlem have developed this condition. For reasons that are not fully understood, the numbers continue to rise, even though steps have been taken to address the problem in recent years.

You have been asked, as a resident of New York City, to participate in a study of this problem. You will study the issue and try to offer suggestions for a solution to this serious public health problem. You will make a presentation to your class and school as well as develop a letter to be sent to Assemblymen José Serrano and Miguel Ramirez a special day in April be set aside for study and consideration of this problem.

Your study may have an important impact on efforts to deal with this serious medical condition that affects so many New Yorkers, good luck!

TASK:

Your panel will review available data on the problem of asthma at your school and in other parts of the community. You want to consider the impact of the illness on the school community as well as the neighborhood. Your group will gather data from many sources, seeking to get the widest view of what’s going on as possible. As part of your analysis you will seek understand the data and decide which information is most useful in developing suggestions for a plan of action to address problems and issues involved in developing a program to combat asthma and its effects on people.

You will create and give a survey to a group of people. Your teacher will assist you in identifying the group to be surveyed. You will design the survey using Zoomerang (http://info.zoomerang.com). After you have gathered your survey information, you have collected you will share that information with the other members in your group.

PROCESS:

Your teacher will divide your class into six groups of four with designated topics for each group and a specific role for each member of the groups as follows:

Group leader-responsible for overall functioning of the entire group, based on teacher timeline and due dates

Editor-edits the written portion of the work and condenses the research gathered by the group

Graphic Artist-responsible to create and/or gather graphics for the PowerPoint and to insure that the graphics are appropriate

Surveyor-will create the Zoomerang survey and will be responsible for conducting and gathering survey data

As part of your group meetings, you should consider the following issues and actions:

· Compare/ contrast the number of asthma (symptoms) reported cases in specific areas based on age, gender, race (Hispanic, African American, Asian /European) (research/ create graph).

· Could your group collect air samples based on student created devices/surveillance techniques for samplings? (In Upper/Lower Bronx/Manhattan, Yonkers, PA)

· Hereditary? Are children born with asthma/ can the onset be prevented based on environmental conditions?

· Treatment – Holistic vs. Conventional methods – How does diet, nutrition and physical fitness impact on asthma/ symptoms? How do conventional medications and methods impact on the treatment of asthma? Discuss/create brochures for traditional recipes used in asthma treatment

You will also follow the six steps of the public policy analyst in the section below.

The goal here is to:

· Identify the nature of a social problem

· Gather evidence to support the existence of the problem

· Determine the causes and factors contributing to the problem

· Evaluating existing public policies

· Developing public policy solutions

· Selecting the best public policy solution

RESOURCES:

1. THE ASTHMA INFORMATION OUTREACH PROJECT

2. GOTHAM GAZETTE -- ASTHMA

3. SENATOR CLINTON ANNOUNCES PLAN TO ADDRESS NEW YORK CITY'S ...

4. NEW YORK'S ASTHMA RATES REVEAL SOCIAL DISPARITIES

5. NEW YORK'S ACTION AGAINST ASTHMA

6. INFORMATION ON ASTHMA IN NEW YORK STATE

7. 1010 WINS - ON-AIR, ONLINE, ON DEMAND

8. STUDY FINDS ASTHMA IN 25% OF CHILDREN IN CENTRAL HARLEM - NEW YORK ...

9. REDUCING CHILDHOOD ASTHMA THROUGH COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICE DELIVERY ...

10. LOCAL LAWS OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK A LOCAL LAW –A LAW DEALING WITH FUELS ALLOWED IN NYC

11. CITY AND STATE TO GIVE FREE ASTHMA CARE TO HOMELESS CHILDREN - NEW ...

12. PROTECTING OUR HEALTH: ASTHMA EVEN MORE PREVALENT IN ECONOMICALLY ... STUDY ON ASTHMA IN CENTRAL HARLEM

13. ASTHMA AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS

14. NEW YORK CITY AIR QUALITY AMONG WORST IN COUNTRY

15. ASTHMA NEWS

Evaluation:

	Excellent 4	Very Good 3	Satisfactory 2	Unsatisfactory 1
Research Public Policy Analysis	Problem clearly identified and thoroughly researched All six steps of the PPA are clearly addressed and all worksheets correctly completed	Problem identified and reasonably well researched All six steps of the PPA are addressed and most worksheets correctly completed	Problem identified with limited research. All steps of the PPA are addressed, but worksheets could be improved on.	Problem identified but research is lacking Incomplete worksheets.
Oral Presentation	Well organized, demonstrates logical sequencing and sentence structure. The group is knowledgeable and can answer questions with high degree of accuracy.	Well organized, but demonstrates illogical sequencing or sentence structure. The group is knowledgeable and can answer questions with a moderate degree of accuracy.	Well organized, but illogical sequencing and sentence structure. The group is knowledgeable and can answer questions with a minimum degree of accuracy.	Poorly organized. The group is not knowledgeable and cannot answer questions with accuracy.
PowerPoint	5 or more creative slides that include animated graphics and sound	5 or more slides using color graphics, clear and annotated	5 slides with some graphics, slides are too busy	Fewer than 5 slides, not clear and no graphics
PowerPoint Graphics	Image strong enough to communicate ideas with or without text	Image requires text to communicate.	Image not clear about the message you are trying to communicate	In complete art assignment.
Survey	All of the required topics are addressed thoroughly in the survey. Content is accurate and ideas are supported well by research.	All of the required topics are addressed in the survey; however, some topics could have been researched more thoroughly. Content is accurate.	All of the required topics are addressed in the survey; however, some topics could have been researched more thoroughly. Content is accurate.	All of the required topics are incomplete, the survey and the research is incomplete.

Total Possible Points: 12 Total Points Earned: ____

1. 10 – 12 = A 3. 7-9 =C 5. 3 -0=F

2. 11 -- 7 = B 4. 4-6=D

CONCLUSION:

At the end of this project you should have developed am appreciation of the problems of asthma in New York City. Your research and report can further assist in the effort to overcome this serious public health problem. Additionally, your work should assist you in dealing with the problem when you face it among your family, friends or neighbors. Thank you for your efforts

Standards:

English Language Arts:

E1C: Read and comprehend informational materials

E3B: Participate in-group meetings

Science:

S2a: Structure and function in living systems.

S5c: Uses evidence from reliable sources to develop description

S5f: Works individually and in teams to collect and share information