MCAN seeks to provide the necessary impetus to address current challenges in childhood asthma
management and care, specifi cally the effi cient integration of programs and interventions to
create asthma-friendly communities, and to reduce persistent disparities in childhood asthma
morbidity and mortality. MCAN plans to develop innovative, comprehensive, evidence-based
program models that employ a community-based approach to fostering productive linkages
among stakeholders concerned with asthma care for children and that implement interventions
with proven eff ectiveness in improving health and related outcomes.
Through the Call for Proposals, MCAN will select highly qualifi ed organizations to design asthma programs that are compatible with fi ve critical policy goals for improving childhood asthma outcomes, as set forth by a national expert panel supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through its Pediatric Asthma Initiative.2 A sixth cross-cutting goal of MCAN is to foster innovation in generating an integrated approach to implementing effective asthma interventions.