Asthma Control Program

Asthma Surveillance

Available Data Sets

HEALTH uses three data sets to measure the prevalence of asthma and its severity:

• The Rhode Island Health Interview Survey (a survey of households run every five years)
• The Rhode Island Hospital Discharge Survey (a data set including information on all hospital discharges in the State from 10/1/1989)
• Death Certificates (available in electronic format since the early 1980's)

The Rhode Island Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), for which HEALTH developed a state-specific asthma module. This module may be viewed or downloaded in pdf format.

Surveillance Reports

HEALTH has produced four surveillance reports on the prevalence and burden of asthma in Rhode Island. Additional surveillance reports will be available soon.

• Asthma in Rhode Island 2004
• Buechner JS. Hospital discharges with asthma, 1991-1995 (Health by Numbers). Medicine and Health / Rhode Island 1997;80(8):264-265.
• Buechner JS, Kim H. Prevalence of asthma in Rhode Island (Health by Numbers). Medicine and Health / Rhode Island 1998;81(10):333-334.
• Buechner JS. Trends in asthma morbidity and mortality, Rhode Island 1988 - 1997 (Health by Numbers). Medicine and Health / Rhode Island 1999;82(7): 261-262. [Available in the recent CME issue of Medicine and Health / Rhode Island on asthma]