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Ronald D. Deprez, PhD, MPH, Nancy L. Asdigian, PhD, L. Christine Oliver, MD, MS, Norman Anderson, MSPH, Edgar Caldwell, MD and Lee Ann Baggott, MD

Ronald D. Deprez and Nancy L. Asdigian are with the Public Health Research Institute, Portland, Me. L. Christine Oliver is with the Occupational Health Institute, Boston, Mass. Norman Anderson, Edgar Caldwell, and Lee Ann Baggott are with the American Lung Association of Maine, Augusta.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints and for a copy of the survey instrument should be sent to Ronald D. Deprez, PhD, MPH, Public Health Research Institute, 120 Exchange St, Suite 200, Portland, ME 04101 (e-mail: rdeprez{at}phrg.com).

Objectives. We developed and evaluated a statewide and community-level asthma surveillance system.

Methods. Databases and measures included a community prevalence survey, hospital admissions data, emergency department/outpatient clinic visit records, and a physician survey of diagnosis and treatment practices. We evaluated the system in 5 Maine communities varying in population and income.

Results. Asthma hospitalizations were high in the rural/low-socioeconomic-status communities studied, although diagnosed asthma was low. Males were more likely than females to experience asthma symptoms, although they were less likely to have been diagnosed with asthma or to have used hospital-based asthma care.

Conclusions. Databases were useful for estimating asthma burden and identifying service needs as well as high-risk groups. They were less useful in estimating severity or in identifying environmental risks.

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