Asthma UK At The Birmingham Eid Mela

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Article Date: 29 Jul 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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This weekend Asthma UK will be teaming up with the British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK to host a health marquee at the Birmingham Eid Mela, providing information and support for people from the South Asian community.

The marquee will be run by staff, health professionals and volunteers, many of whom have asthma themselves, and who will be on hand to provide advice, information and signposting services. Asthma UK will also be providing a range of popular bilingual materials such as the life-saving Asthma Attack Cards, which provide basic information on how to recognise an asthma attack and what steps to take and Asthma UK's Emergency Care Materials which help people who have been admitted to hospital with an asthma attack, avoid future emergency admissions.

There are over 81,000 people in Birmingham with asthma and the city has a large South Asian population. People from South Asian communities are three times more likely than white people to have an emergency hospital admission for their asthma, despite the fact that the incidence of asthma in South Asian communities is actually lower than in the white population. Research has shown that people from the South Asian community who have a long-term condition, do not always receive the health information they need through other channels, so being at the Mela is a fun way of ensuring that people understand more about managing their own or their child's asthma and gives them the opportunity to ask questions or talk over any concerns.

Claire Randolph, Community Development Manager says: 'Having asthma shouldn't stop people from living life to the full and by being at the Mela we enjoy having the opportunity to make sure more people are aware of this.

We believe that by providing people with good quality information about their condition, we give them a better chance of living happy and healthy lives.'

The event will take place at Birmingham's Cannon Hill Park, 2 Russell Road, Moseley from 1-8pm this Saturday 27 July. Entry to the event is free and to find us just ask for the Asthma UK Marquee. For more information about the event call the Community Development Team on 020 7786 4926.

Notes

1. Asthma UK is the charity dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the 5.2 million people in the UK with asthma.

2. Asthma UK Adviceline offers independent advice about asthma and provides a translation service in more than 100 languages. It is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm on 08457 01 02 03 or alternatively you can email an asthma nurse at http://www.asthma.org.uk/adviceline.

3. Our website asthma.org.uk also provides useful information including frequently asked questions in a number of South Asian languages including Arabic, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu and Punjabi.

Asthma UK