Asthma Program Manager

About Lungtropolis®

Developed by ORCAS in collaboration with the American Lung Association, Lungtropolis® is a powerful, inexpensive tool for giving parents and children the information and guidance they need to manage asthma.

In the Lungtropolis® Kids game, children become "Asthma Control Agents" under the tutelage of Dr. Alvi Olé as they fight to defeat the Mucus Mob. As part of the game, players watch videos and answer questions to help them learn about asthma and how to manage it.

Lungtropolis® Parents is a companion site that offers caregivers comprehensive information and resources to understand and help manage a child's asthma, such as advice on using asthma medicines and what to do in an emergency, as well as tips on how to talk to their medical provider-and their child-about managing asthma.

Asthma is a chronic disease that cannot be cured but can be controlled. A key strategy used to control asthma is to reduce or eliminate the asthma triggers that cause or exacerbate the symptoms of the disease. It is critical that all those who work with, live with, and are affected by asthma have a good understanding of asthma triggers and how they can be effectively reduced to achieve asthma control.

The purpose of this report is to identify the key environmental asthma triggers that are present in Montana. Herein, readers will find a description of characteristics of the state that influence environmental asthma triggers. This is followed by a description of common outdoor, indoor, and work-related asthma triggers, and a discussion of how relevant these triggers are to Montana. The final segment of the paper describes current knowledge gaps, summarizes key clinical messages, and suggests public policy implications of the report's findings.

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)