Each May, the City of San Antonio Metro Health launches its Asthma Awareness Month (AAM) campaign, which provides a significant opportunity for public health leaders to highlight the importance of prevention, education and access to care.
Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that affects millions of Americans, including one in 12 children and families in our communities. When not properly managed, asthma can lead to emergency room visits, hospitalizations, missed school and reduced quality of life.
AAM is a time to raise awareness about asthma prevention and promote strategies that help people live healthier, symptom-free lives.
The SA Kids Building Relationships, Effective Asthma Teaching in Home Environment, or SA Kids BREATHE program, is a free city program through the Metro Health department that was created in partnership with the South Texas Asthma Coalition.
The program addresses high hospitalization rates among children with asthma. Its primary goal is to improve the quality of the lives of children with asthma by teaching them and their families the best practices to control their asthma.
Through community outreach, collaboration and education initiatives, the SA Kids BREATHE program can help families with children under 18 recognize symptoms and understand triggers like air pollution, allergens and environmental irritants. It can also teach families how to properly manage asthma through medications and asthma action plans.
Asthma Awareness Month is ultimately a call to action. By bringing together health care providers, schools, community organizations and families, public health can strengthen partnerships that improve asthma management, expand access to resources and support healthier environments where people with asthma can thrive.
For more information, visit the SA Kids BREATHE website or call 210-207-7282.