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.