Asthma Educator

Asthma educators used The Asthma Education Inventory Tool, at baseline, 6 and 12 month follow-up, to collect information regarding:

• Demographics
• Type of visit
• Visit location
• Status of asthma action plan
• Impairment and risk factors
• Healthcare utilization
• Inhaler technique
• Medication use 

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.

Objectives. We sought to estimate the return on investment of a streamlined version of an evidence-based community health worker (CHW) asthma home visit program.

Methods. We used a randomized parallel group trial of home visits by CHWs to Medicaid-enrolled children with uncontrolled asthma versus usual care.

Results. A total of 373 participants enrolled in the study (182 in the intervention group and 191 in the control group, of whom 154 and 179, respectively, completed the study). The intervention group had greater improvements in asthma symptom–free days (2.10 days more over 2 weeks; 95% CI =  1.17, 3.05; P < .001) and caretakers’ quality of life (0.43 units more; 95% CI = 0.20, 0.66; P < .001) and a larger reduction in urgent health care utilization events (1.31 events fewer over 12 months; 95% CI = −2.10, −0.52; P = .001). The intervention arm compared with the control arm saved $1340.92 for the $707.04 additional costs invested for the average participant. The return on investment was 1.90.

Conclusions. A streamlined CHW asthma home visit program for children with uncontrolled asthma improved health outcomes and yielded a return on investment of 1.90. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print August 13, 2015: e1–e7. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302685)

Read More: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302685?journalCode=ajph