
The New York City Childhood Asthma Initiative (NYCCAI), begun in 1997, is overseen by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. It is a comprehensive effort intended to improve the management and treatment of childhood asthma through three strategies: the development of community partnerships to design an intervention plan to increase awareness of asthma and address system issues among community institutions; home-based education provided by community health workers to targeted families; and a medical provider education program. The target population consists of urban, low income, Hispanic/Latino and Black/African-American residents in New York.