ABSTRACT
Over the past few decades asthma has become an increasing public health
problem (1,2). An increased prevalence of asthma was particularly apparent in children in many high-income countries, including Canada (2), the
United Kingdom (3), and the United States (4). Through the 1970s and
1980s, increasing numbers of children required admission to hospital for
asthma, suggesting that not only had the prevalence of asthma increased
but also that the severity of asthma was increasing (5,6). Of major concern,
deaths due to asthma, even among children, also appeared to be increasing
during this time (7,8). The change in asthma prevalence, morbidity, and
mortality increased awareness in the growing community of asthma specialists of the need for a more systematic approach to diagnosis and management of
this common disease.
