Worksheet2: Gathering Evidence of the Problem
Date: September 5, 2003 Group Members: John Smith, Jane Doe, and Joe Shmoe
Your problem (phrase): Asthma in the Bronx..
Present evidence that a problem exists. Be as specific as possible and cite at least one source of data:
Asthma is the leading cause of chronic illness and sickness-related school absenteeism in children. New York City's South Bronx and East Harlem neighborhoods have been shown to have the highest asthma rates in the nation. In both these areas, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working with community groups and scientific experts to collect information on the problem and find the most effective intervention techniques.
http://www.epa.gov/region02/soer/air/r2soe98air.htm
According to the South Bronx Children's Health Center, 23.2 children per thousand in the South Bronx are hospitalized for asthma each year. That is compared with 10.2 per thousand in New York City as a whole and 3.7 per thousand nationwide.
http://www.savvyhealth.com/disp.asp?doc_id=837
Both hospitalization and death rates due to asthma are skyrocketing in the South Bronx; they are already eight times the national average. Precipitous rises in asthma-related death and disease have been documented in numerous urban areas. In early 1991, the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases set up a National Cooperative Inner-City Asthma Study in eight cities to study recurrent asthma attacks and asthma-related deaths among mostly black and Hispanic children. At that time, asthma was the leading cause of hospital admission for children.
Hospitalization rates for asthma among people in the South Bronx are as high as 17.3 per 1,000 people; death rates from asthma are as high as 11 per 100,000. Both of these rates are eight times the national average. The rate of asthma among children here is twice the national average: 8.3 percent. The main hospital in the area, Lincoln, received 13,000 visits a year for asthma over the last several years.
http://www.chronicillnet.org/online/bronx.html