Education/Outreach Materials

Each May, thousands of organizations join together for Asthma Awareness Month to increase public awareness of the asthma epidemic and to take action to get asthma under control in communities across the nation. Asthma affects over 25 million people of all ages and races. And, though asthma is widespread, public awareness of common asthma triggers and effective asthma management strategies remains limited.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed this Event Planning Kit to equip state and local asthma programs to hold community-based awareness and action events during Asthma Awareness Month. Inside you will find ideas and helpful tips for planning and running powerful community asthma events. Be sure to check out the event spotlights to learn about successful efforts other communities had in the past. You will also find sample materials and a resource order form to use at your events.

The Merck Foundation set out to create an organization that would make a significant contribution to a growing public health problem by building publicprivate partnerships to implement effective, evidencebased health interventions. As part of a three-phase planning process, the Merck Foundation chose childhood asthma as the focus and developed a plan for an organization to address it – the Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc. (MCAN).

It's time to overcome the heavy burden of childhood asthma. Although we don't have all the pieces of the childhood asthma puzzle, we know enough to better manage this chronic condition and help millions of families across America.