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This webinar will highlight one of the modules included in CEHN's revised training resource titled "Training Manual on Pediatric Environmental Health: Putting It Into Practice".

The presentations will provide participants with an overview of the Environmental Management of Pediatric Asthma: Guidelines for Health Care Providers. They will include an outline of relevant competencies in environmental health and discuss the importance of interventions to control environmental hazards in children's homes and other primary settings as part of a complete pediatric asthma management plan. Information on helpful resources will also be provided. Join the Children's Environmental Health Network (CEHN) and the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) for the first of our 2013 children's environmental health webinar series.

The webinar can be found here: http://www.neefusa.org/health/asthma-webinar2-archive.htm 

Posted with permission from the Journal of Environmental Health, a publication of the National Environmental Health Association, www.neha.org.  Further posting of this article is restricted. For permission, contact jeh@neha.org. 

This article will appear in the January/February 2014 issue of the Journal of Environmental Health.

Abstract: Asthma, the most significant cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality, is exacerbated by adverse environmental conditions, especially substandard housing. The clinical care provider is often unable to address housing and environmental trigger issues. In Boston, Massachusetts, a web-based referral system called Breathe Easy At Home has been put in place, through which clinicians can refer patients to have their homes inspected for housing code violations that may be contributing to their asthma. Violations will then be brought to the attention of the landlord, who then has the option of redressing the issue or be taken to housing court. By bringing the local public health department, the city’s inspectional services department, and the clinical care provider together with the help of a program coordinator, Breathe Easy At Home is able to provide comprehensive care to asthma patients. This program also serves as a replicable model for other cities and jurisdictions to follow.

This form focuses on environmental triggers and was developed as an initial intake tool specifically for children already diagnosed with asthma.