The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) has created a Spanish-language version of its Wee Breathers™ program, which is designed to educate families and young children about asthma care and prevention.

Asthma is a growing concern in the Hispanic community, especially for Puerto Ricans who have the highest rate of asthma attacks and asthma prevalence 80% higher than non-Hispanic whites. AAFA is dedicated to ensuring that people with asthma have access to educational resources to help reduce the burden of this chronic disease. Wee Breathers™ in Spanish is designed to reach people who are disproportionately affected by asthma and may have low English-language proficiency.  

Wee Breathers™ is a flexible and interactive program used by asthma educators to families of pre-school-age children. The program curriculum consists of seven one-hour lessons, an instructor’s guide and two checklists for identifying asthma triggers in the home and in child care centers. Program handout materials are easy-to-read (6th grade reading level or lower) and are now available in Spanish. Instructors for this program should be a Certified Asthma Educator (AE-C), or other health professional experienced with pediatric asthma management.

Since young children spend most of their time at home or in other caregiver sites like child care centers, Wee Breathers™ was designed to educate families one-on-one in their homes or with a group of parents in a child care setting. The program was developed and reviewed by an advisory team of asthma education professionals, then field-tested with experienced English- and Spanish-speaking asthma educators across the US.

Wee Breathers™ in Spanish is made possible by a cooperative agreement between AAFA and the National Asthma Control Program of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All program materials are available free-of-charge at www.aafa.org/WeeBreathers.

The purpose of this guide is to support school-based health center staff in leading or supporting evidence-based strategies and promising practices to reduce exposure to environmental asthma triggers. Although there is a broad array of evidence-based interventions to address asthma triggers, many people with asthma continue to be exposed to the factors that make their asthma worse. School-based health centers (SBHCs) are uniquely positioned to address this gap in order to help children breathe easier. While many SBHCs across the country are already playing a key role in helping students manage their asthma by providing quality clinical care and education, there is an opportunity for SBHCs to also be leaders in managing the environmental factors that make asthma worse. This guide describes the types of interventions that SBHC staff can initiate or support to reduce exposure to environmental asthma triggers. It covers five main strategies, each its own chapter in the guide: Education; Case Management; Improving Indoor Air Quality in Schools; Improving the Students’ Home Environment; Improving Outdoor Air Quality around the School and Community. 

A new study looked at whether allergy-causing substances in the home influence kids’ risk of developing asthma. The results provide clues for preventing asthma before it develops. More than 6 million American children have asthma. Asthma makes airways in the lungs prone to swelling and narrowing. It can cause wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. Dust contains things that can trigger an asthma attack, such as mold, animal dander, or dust mites. Eliminating or reducing these triggers can lessen asthma attacks. But studies suggest that exposure to these substances early in life may protect children from asthma. To pinpoint how substances in the home influence the development of asthma, NIH-funded researchers began studying newborns in 2005 who had at least one parent with asthma or allergies. Having a parent with asthma or allergies increases the chance of developing asthma. The researchers collected dust samples from the children’s homes during their first three years of life. They analyzed levels of common allergy triggers in the dust. About 1 of every 3 children in the study had asthma by age seven. Higher levels of cockroach, mouse, and cat substances in the dust samples were linked to a lower risk of having asthma. The researchers continue to study the children to pinpoint the factors that might reduce asthma risk. “Additional research may help us identify specific targets for asthma prevention strategies,” says study lead Dr. James E. Gern at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.