Faculty mentor/PI email address
brennaam@rowan.edu
Keywords
Asthma, Health disparities, Low-income populations, South Jersey, Access to care, Social determinants of health, Asthma management
Date of Presentation
5-6-2026 12:00 AM
Poster Abstract
Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that remains a significant public health concern, particularly among low-income and underserved populations. This poster presents a focused review of existing literature and publicly available data to examine barriers to asthma management and access to specialty care in South Jersey, with emphasis on counties such as Camden, Atlantic, and Cumberland.
Data were synthesized from sources including PubMed, the New Jersey Department of Health, and the National Institutes of Health to evaluate asthma prevalence, disease burden, and the impact of social determinants of health. Current estimates suggest that approximately 8.8%–9.0% of adults in New Jersey are affected by asthma, with a substantial proportion experiencing poorly controlled symptoms. Higher rates of emergency department visits and hospitalizations in South Jersey highlight ongoing challenges in disease management.
The review identifies several persistent barriers to effective asthma care, including cost of medications and services, insurance limitations, transportation issues, environmental exposures, and gaps in language access and health literacy. These challenges are further exacerbated in regions with higher poverty rates, where access to primary care and pulmonology services is often inconsistent.
Limitations include reliance on secondary data and the lack of recent, county-level surveillance data, which restricts comprehensive assessment of current trends. Despite these limitations, this review underscores the need for community-based strategies that improve care coordination, expand educational outreach, and enhance accessibility of asthma management resources.
Addressing these systemic barriers is essential to improving health outcomes and reducing disparities among vulnerable populations in South Jersey.
Disciplines
Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Medicine and Health Sciences | Public Health Education and Promotion | Pulmonology
Included in
Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons, Pulmonology Commons
Barriers to Asthma Management and Specialty Care Among Low-Income Families in South Jersey
Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that remains a significant public health concern, particularly among low-income and underserved populations. This poster presents a focused review of existing literature and publicly available data to examine barriers to asthma management and access to specialty care in South Jersey, with emphasis on counties such as Camden, Atlantic, and Cumberland.
Data were synthesized from sources including PubMed, the New Jersey Department of Health, and the National Institutes of Health to evaluate asthma prevalence, disease burden, and the impact of social determinants of health. Current estimates suggest that approximately 8.8%–9.0% of adults in New Jersey are affected by asthma, with a substantial proportion experiencing poorly controlled symptoms. Higher rates of emergency department visits and hospitalizations in South Jersey highlight ongoing challenges in disease management.
The review identifies several persistent barriers to effective asthma care, including cost of medications and services, insurance limitations, transportation issues, environmental exposures, and gaps in language access and health literacy. These challenges are further exacerbated in regions with higher poverty rates, where access to primary care and pulmonology services is often inconsistent.
Limitations include reliance on secondary data and the lack of recent, county-level surveillance data, which restricts comprehensive assessment of current trends. Despite these limitations, this review underscores the need for community-based strategies that improve care coordination, expand educational outreach, and enhance accessibility of asthma management resources.
Addressing these systemic barriers is essential to improving health outcomes and reducing disparities among vulnerable populations in South Jersey.