Other Health Care Provider

Program faculty will teach participants to holistically approach the education of patients and families with asthma. Core topics discussed are asthma prevalence, goals of therapy, pathophysiology, controlling factors that contribute to severity,pharmacotherapy, medication administration, symptom monitoring, co-morbidities,and optimizing education. Application of core topics is reviewed though interactive case studies. Participants should have an interest in improving the care of patients with asthma and improving the abilities of caregivers. This seven part series includes: -The burden of asthma in the United States -Assessment and monitoring -Control of environmental factors -Medications -Inhalation devices -Education for a partnership in care -Case studies CEUs are available for Respiratory Therapist and Nurses

In 2005, local leaders in New York City developed the Washington Heights/Inwood Network for Asthma Program to address the burden of asthma in their community. Bilingual community health workers based in community organizations and the local hospital provided culturally appropriate education and support to families who needed help managing asthma. Families participating in the yearlong care coordination program received comprehensive asthma education, home environmental assessments, trigger reduction strategies, and clinical and social referrals. Since 2006, 472 families have enrolled in the yearlong program. After 12 months, hospitalizations and emergency department visits decreased by more than 50%, and caregiver confidence in controlling the child’s asthma increased to nearly 100%. Key to the program’s success was the commitment and involvement of community partners from program inception to date. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print April 19, 2012: e1-e4. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300585)

This review identifies economic values of home-based, multi-trigger, multi-component interventions with an environmental focus and presents ranges for the main economic outcomes (e.g., program costs, benefit-cost ratios and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios). A previous review concluded that these interventions were effective in reducing asthma morbidity among children and adolescents. Of the 1,551 studies identified for inclusion in the review, 13 were selected. Each of these had program costs ranging from $231-$14,858 per participant per year.  This range was affected by completeness of their program cost data, level of intensity of the environmental remediation, the type of educational component included, the professional status of the home visitor and the frequency of visits by the home visitor. The study ultimately found that the benefits from these kinds of interventions can "match or even exceed their program costs" and that "these programs provide a good value for dollars spent on the interventions."