- Asthma in Schools: The Basic for Parents
- May 16th Online Asthma Basics Workshop
- Asthma Resource Library
- Asthma Courses
What is Asthma?
Asthma is a chronic lung disease that causes repeated episodes of chest tightness, wheezing, cough, and shortness of breath. It can be life threatening.
Asthma attacks can be triggered by air pollution, allergens (pet dander, pests, mold), tobacco smoke, exercise, and infections. Learn more about asthma triggers in home environments.
- 7.6% of children (2018) and 8.9% of adults (2020) in Maryland have asthma.
- In 2020, there were 16,615 asthma-related emergency department visits in Maryland (age-adjusted rate of 27.5 per 10,000 residents) and 1,478 asthma-related hospitalizations (age-adjusted rate of 2.4 per 10,000 residents). This is a 44% decline in ED visits and 53% decline in hospitalizations from 2018, which is likely a result of COVID-19’s impact on health care utilization.
- Black children in Maryland have almost five times the rate of asthma-related emergency department visits as White children.
- In 2020, health care costs for asthma-related emergency departments totalled $34 million, and asthma-related hospitalizations cost an additional $15.5 million, totalling totalling $49.5million.
Asthma emergency department visits (per 1,000 population) for children aged 2-17 years by race and ethnicity (NH = Non Hispanic; Source: HSCRC)
Rates of emergency department visits (per 1,000 population) for children aged 2 - 17 years by jurisdiction, 2016 - 2020 (source: HSCRC).
For more information, the Maryland Asthma Control Program publishes an annual report on asthma .
W hat can you do?- Make sure your child is being treated with their inhaler properly.
- Check the air quality so that you can avoid exposure to ozone, particulate matter, and other asthma triggers during bad air quality days.
- Develop an Asthma Action Plan, which is a communication tool and a key component of a comprehensive education program for asthma management. The Asthma Action Plan includes information related to treatment schedule and patient self-management.
- Prepare for asthma care during an emergency.
- Join the MDH Asthma Community of Practice
What is Maryland Doing to Improve Asthma Outcomes?
Statewide Integrated Health Improvement Strategy
The Statewide Integrated Health Improvement Strategy (SIHIS) aligns statewide efforts across three domains that are interrelated and, if addressed successfully, have the potential to make significant improvement in not just Maryland’s healthcare system, but in the health outcomes of Marylanders. One of the goals o f SIHIS is to decrease asthma-related emergency department visit rates for all children aged 2-17 by 42%, and for Black children by 50%. Read more about SIHIS here .
Asthma emergency department visit projections and rates for ages 2-17 years old
Asthma Community of Practice
MDH has formed an Asthma Community of Practice with individuals representing health care systems, primary care providers, academia, families, and other stakeholders. If you are interested in joining this Community of Practice, please email Esmeralda Limon, SIHIS Coordinator at
Vision: That all people and families living with asthma receive the best possible care so that asthma does not affect their quality of life.
1) Serve as a forum to exchange best practices and information regarding asthma treatment management and prevention
2) Improve collaboration among stakeholders involved in asthma care 3) Ensure that Marylanders with asthma get the best possible care and access to prevention services The following are the dates and times for Asthma CoP Meetings for 2023: Thursday, June 8, 2023 at 9:30 -11:00 a.m. Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 9:00 -10:00 a.m.Home Visiting and Lead Abatement Programs for Families
Maryland has two new programs for families with a child with asthma:
The He althy Homes for Healthy Kids Program removes lead hazards and asthma triggers from the home at no cost.
The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention and Environmental Case Management Program provies in-home services to reduce exposures to lead and to asthma triggers.
Learn more about these programs, including eligibility criteria and availability in your jurisdiction.
Maryland Asthma Control Program
The Maryland Asthma Control Program uses surveillance data from a number of sources to establish priorities for the Maryland Asthma Plan. The Maryland Asthma Control Program publishes an annual report on asthma, as well as a series of data briefs on specific topics:
- Data Brief #1: Asthma Disparities in Maryland (Aug 2011)
- Data Brief #2: Asthma Mortality in Maryland (Aug 2011)
- Data Brief #3: Asthma Hospitalizations in Maryland (Aug 2011)
- Data Brief #4: Early Childhood Asthma in Maryland (Aug 2011)
- Data Brief #5: Asthma in Maryland's Children and Youth (Aug 2011)
- Data Brief #6: Asthma in the Older Adult (Aug 2011)
Asthma Friendly Schools Program
A safe and supportive learning environment benefits students as well as educators. In an effort to promote healthy schools for children and staff with asthma, the Maryland Department of Health has created the Asthma Friendly School program to encourage and recognize Maryland schools that create and sustain safe, supportive, and asthma-friendly environments.
An asthma friendly school supports the health and academic success of students through maximizing asthma management, reducing environmental asthma triggers in the school environment, and building asthma education and awareness programs for students and staff. Chances for success are better when the entire school community takes part – school health services program staff, school administrators and staff, community health care providers along with the students and parents/guardians. Here is your chance to support students with asthma!
The Asthma Friendly School application can be found here.
Asthma Friendly Child Care Program
Children often spend many hours of their day at child care, either in a center or family home. To address the indoor and outdoor child care environment and educate child care providers on the burden of asthma, the Maryland Department of Health has created the Asthma Friendly Child Care program. The goal of the program is to support the health and early learning of young children through providing excellent asthma management, reducing environmental asthma triggers, and providing asthma education and awareness programs for children in care.
Directions on how to apply to become an Asthma Friendly Child Care, can be found here.
The application for the Asthma Friendly Child Care program is made up of two modules. Both modules must be filled out and submitted to ensure completion of application.
The Environmental Module can be found here.
The Management Module can be found here.
