Asthma Educator

The Native American Asthma Radio Campaign was developed in partnership between the AdCouncil and Environmental Protection Agency and designed to raise awareness of childhood asthma and help prevent asthma attacks in Native American communities.

The culturally-tailored radio spots are available in three tribal languages (Anishinaabe, Lakota, and Navajo), which represent languages used among Native American speakers. Native American children are featured in these spots - speaking and performing in their native languages for the radio public service advertisements (PSA). Each PSA has been designed to be broadcast in Native American communities to help raise awareness and promote action to improve asthma outcomes.

Asthma remains the most common chronic condition of childhood. Strong evidence has linked exposure to allergens and other triggers commonly found in homes to allergen sensitization and asthma incidence and morbidity. A growing body of evidence has demonstrated that a home visit strategy that includes an environmental component that addresses multiple triggers through multiple interventions is effective. Such home visits reduce exposure to triggers, decrease symptoms and urgent health-care use, and increase quality of life. To make home visits widely available will require health-care payor reimbursement, government and health plan funding, training and certification of home visitors, and active referrals from health-care providers. However, a strategy based solely on education and behavior change is limited, because it cannot adequately reduce exposures due to adverse housing conditions. Therefore, approaches that address substandard housing are needed. These include remediation of existing housing and construction of new asthma-friendly homes. Most studies of remediation have made relatively narrow and focused improvements, such as insulation, heating, or ventilation. Outcomes have been mixed. Studies of new asthma-friendly homes are in their infancy, with promising pilot data. Further investigation is needed to establish the effectiveness of improving housing. A final strategy is improving housing quality through policy change, such as implementation of healthy housing guidelines for new construction, enhancement and increased enforcement of housing codes, and assuring smoke-free multi-unit homes. The combina tion of home visits, improved housing construction, and policy change has great potential for reducing the global burden of asthma.

Peak Performance USA is a national asthma awareness/school health program sponsored by the American Association for Respiratory Care. It is a free program designed to assist school nurses and personnel to help children live healthier lives by controlling their asthma, with aid from local respiratory care professionals.

Much of the day-to-day responsibility for managing asthma falls on the child and their parents. However, because of the time spent in school, school staff can become a partner in the management of the disease. Their active participation through Peak Performance USA, with the help of the respiratory care practitioner, in a partnership with the physician, child and parents can help the child participate fully in school activities.

Asthma management information on the website is open to all. Schools registered with the program receive a free demonstration kit consisting of a peak flow meter and two valved holding chambers (one with a mask).