Community Organization

Draft encourages students to bring an asthma action plan to school and carry their inhalers. He also invites people with asthma to get others involved with their asthma management – teachers, friends, etc. The article includes a sidebar that asks readers to share their story at Chris’s web site www.asthmateam.org and watch his EPA Public Service Announcement video “Asthma Can Be Tackled.”

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 interactive exhibit features Poets, Olympic Athletes, to Nobel Laureates and Film makers who have battled Asthma. It also covers the history of Asthma over time and has many video links that chronicle the efforts to understand the disease. Produced by the National Library of Medicine, in collaboration with the NIH, NHLBI, NIAID.