New study provides insight into asthma hospitalizations in PA

(WJET/WFXP) – One Pennsylvania council is hoping to learn more about a common lung disease through its newest research.

On Thursday, May 15, the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) published a research study titled “Asthma Hospitalizations in Pennsylvania.”

The study focused on the hospitalization of Pennsylvania residents who were later diagnosed with asthma, providing insight into the most common age groups, sexes, races/ethnicities and counties of those patients.

According to the study, the PHC4 found hospitalization rates to be highest for:

• Residents who were less than 18 years old
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• Female residents
• Black (non-Hispanic) residents, Hispanic residents, and residents classified as Other (non-Hispanic)
• Residents who live in areas with a poverty rate of 10% or more
• Residents who live in urban counties

The executive director of PHC4, Barry D. Buckingham, said that conducting studies like these is imperative to providing better care in the future.

“Examining hospital admissions for asthma is one way to observe the quality of care provided to Pennsylvania residents with asthma. This type of reporting adds to the resources used to effectively reduce and prevent asthma-related hospitalizations,” said Buckingham.

Those interested in reading the full study can do so by clicking here.