Asthma G.A.P.

Full Survey Findings (PDF)

Survey Findings: African American | Hispanic

There are some significant differences between African American asthma patients (n=503) and the general population of asthma patients regarding how they treat their asthma. African American patients are more likely to stop taking their controller medication when asthma symptoms subside, and they’re more likely to suffer an asthma attack that results in emergency care.

• African American asthma patients are more likely to believe asthma is a very or extremely serious condition (84% vs. 66% of the general population of asthma patients).
• A higher proportion of African American patients believe asthma can be caused by airway obstruction (84% vs. 76% of the general population of asthma patients).
• A smaller proportion of African Americans than the general population of asthma patients are currently taking a controller (56% vs. 62%) or a rescue medication (52% vs. 59%).
• Usage of rescue medications among African American patients is less prevalent than it is among all asthma patients nationally and among Hispanic patients: 52%, 59% and 64%, respectively.
• A larger proportion of African American patients than the general population of asthma patients consider their asthma is well controlled if they only have one emergency room visit per year (62% vs. 55%), and if their asthma bothers them less than half the time when they exercise (61% vs. 55%).
• A higher proportion of African American patients believe it’s appropriate to take controller medication less regularly when asthma symptoms decrease (52% vs. 42% of the general population of asthma patients); and that it is appropriate to stop taking a controller medication when symptoms are gone (31% vs. 25% of the general population).
• A smaller proportion of African American patients than the general population of patients takes controller medication on a regular basis for asthma prevention and maintenance (77% vs. 84%); a larger proportion take their controller only when needed for quick relief of an asthma attack (18% vs. 12%).
• Among patients who have stopped taking a controller in the past 12 months (n=154), African Americans are more likely to have had an emergency doctor visit (32%) or emergency room visit (26%) due to an asthma attack (vs. 17% and 12%, respectively, among all patients).
• A larger proportion of African American patients than the general population of asthma patients think that when not experiencing any symptoms they are still at risk of having to make an emergency trip to the doctor (57% vs. 45%), having to go to the ER (52% vs. 40%), having to be hospitalized (45% vs. 36%) and missing work (44% vs. 33%) due to an asthma attack.

Survey Findings: Hispanic | African American

Differences between Hispanic asthma patients (n=500) and the general asthma population include the likelihood of stopping controller medication and reasons for stopping. Hispanic patients are more likely to stop because controllers are “inconvenient” or because asthma symptoms subside.

• Hispanic asthma patients are more likely to believe asthma is a very or extremely serious condition (78% vs. 66% of the general population of patients).
• A greater proportion of Hispanic patients think asthma can be caused by airway obstruction (83% vs. 76% of the general population of asthma patients) and mucous production (70% vs. 59%).
• A larger proportion of Hispanic asthma patients feel the most important reason why they need to continuously treat their asthma is airway inflammation (19% vs. 12% of the general population of asthma patients).
• A larger proportion of Hispanic patients agree that it is appropriate to take controller medications less regularly when asthma symptoms decrease (60% vs. 42% of the general population of asthma patients), and to stop taking them if they no longer experience symptoms (42% vs. 25%).
• Fewer Hispanic patients see risks associated with stopping their controllers because they are not experiencing any symptoms (60% vs. 70% of the general population of asthma patients). However, more Hispanics think they do everything to reduce the risks associated with asthma (79% vs. 73% of the general population).
• Fewer Hispanic patients take their controller medication on a regular basis for asthma prevention and maintenance (76% vs. 84% of the general population of asthma patients) and 11% of Hispanic patients take their controller medication only as needed for symptoms, compared with 7% of the general population of asthma patients currently taking a controller (n=639).
• Hispanics are more likely to report stopping their controller medications for some period of time in the past 12 months (28% vs. 21% among all patients).
• More Hispanic patients take their controller only when needed for quick relief of an asthma attack (20% vs. 12% of the general population of patients).
• Among those patients who stopped taking a controller medication, a smaller proportion of Hispanic patients stopped because their healthcare professional said they no longer needed to take the controller (21% vs. 34% of the general population of asthma patients).
• One in three Hispanic patients (31%) report that they stopped using their controller due to the inconvenience of having to take it on a regular basis, compared with 16% of the general population of patients.
• Among patients who have stopped taking controller medication in the past 12 months, a larger proportion of Hispanics had to miss work due to an asthma attack (23% vs. 12% of the general population of asthma patients).
• A larger proportion of Hispanic patients than the general population of asthma patients think that when not experiencing any symptoms they are still at risk of having to make an emergency trip to the doctor (56% vs. 45%), having to go to the ER (49% vs. 40%), having to miss work (46% vs. 33%), and having to be hospitalized (44% vs. 36%) due to an asthma attack.
• A great proportion of Hispanic asthma patients (79%) think they do everything to reduce asthma risks (vs. 73% of the general population).

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