Controlling Childhood Asthma and Reducing Emergencies Initiative

Promoting Asthma Friendly Environments through Partnerships and Collaborations project will use proven effective strategies outlined in the CDC EXHALE technical package

The Problem:

While asthma affects people of all ages, races, genders and segments of society, the burden is not equally shared across racial and ethnic groups. It is most often a disease of the young and of the poor. In 2018, 24.8 million Americans reported a diagnosis of asthma. Of those, 19.2 million were adults and 5.5 million were children. Nearly half of children (52.7%) and adults with asthma living below the poverty level reported an asthma attack in the past year1, which is an indication of poor asthma control. Children and people living below the poverty level are among the groups most likely to have asthma, and to suffer from severe asthma attacks, hospitalization, and even death. Asthma morbidity and mortality is disproportionably burdensome for African Americans and Hispanics, who are least likely to have access to health education and adequate healthcare.

Using Proven-Effective Strategies

The American Lung Association’s project, Promoting Asthma Friendly Environments through Partnerships and Collaborations, will use proven effective strategies outlined in the CDC EXHALE technical package to improve asthma control in populations. By engaging a network of asthma control programs, healthcare professionals, public health and professional health organizations, local, state and federal governments, and non-governmental organizations, the Lung Association will increase knowledge and adoption of strategies that improve asthma morbidity and mortality in communities with the highest burden of asthma.

What is EXHALE?

The CDC’s EXHALE technical package represents a group of strategies, which, based upon the best available evidence, can improve asthma control and reduce healthcare costs. It is intended as a resource to inform decision-making in communities, organizations, and states.

About the Project

The American Lung Association builds partnerships with State Asthma Programs (including those who are CDC-funded), state and local asthma coalitions, and community stakeholders to implement effective interventions. In September of 2020, the Lung Association received funding from the CDC to Promote Asthma Friendly Environments through Partnerships (Asthma Friendly Environments Project) for a five-year funding period.

The purpose of the Asthma Friendly Environments project is to support an informed network of strategic community partners to improve asthma among high-burden populations through coordinated dissemination and evaluation of the CDC EXHALE technical package across the United States.

The overall goals for the Asthma Friendly Environments project are to:

  1. increase the implementation of EXHALE by engaging strategic community partners to disseminate messages and effective interventions,
  2. increase the number of people that live, work, or go to school in asthma friendly environments by providing training, technical assistance, and resources; and
  3. advance the CCARE goal to prevent 500,000 hospitalization and emergency department visits among children with asthma. 

The project focuses on reaching specific, high-burden populations which include adults and children with asthma through stakeholders, such as healthcare professionals and local organizations, that serve them. These stakeholders include but are not limited to:

  • Organizations with access to high-burden populations (e.g. - Health Systems, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Community Clinics, School-based Health Centers, Rural Health Practitioners)
  • People with asthma and their families
  • Asthma care providers and healthcare professionals (Primary Care Physicians, Pediatricians, Allergists, Pulmonologists, Physician Assistants, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Respiratory Therapists, Pharmacists, Certified Asthma Educators, Health Educators, and Community Health Workers)
  • Policy and Decision Makers

Partnerships

 

Resources

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health Outcomes. https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/data-visualizations/health-outcomes.htm. Accessed March 31, 2020.

Page last updated: October 23, 2024

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