| Healthy Asthma Homes
Healthy Homes – Asthma (CDC– RFA- EH07-704)
Project dates:
July 1st, 2008 – June 30th, 2010
Partner organizations:
National Capital Asthma Coalition (NCAC)
With the support of:
The Lead Elimination Task Force (LETF)
DC Department of Health Primary Care Administration Asthma Control Program - DC Control Asthma Now (DC CAN)
Funder:
US Environmental Protection Agency – Region III
Principal Investigator: Aurora Amoah, MPH
Co-Principal Investigator: Jerome Paulson, MD
With the support of: Elgoria Harrison, MHA, RRT; Lori Taylor, BS, RRT; Angela Wyan; Ashley Morsell
Project Contact:
Ashley Morsell
(202-994-9544)
Asthma in Children:
- Asthma is one of the most common serious chronic diseases of childhood.
- Asthma is the third-ranking cause of hospitalization among children under 15.
- Asthma in children is the cause of seven million physician visits and nearly 200,000 hospitalizations.
- An average of one out of every 10 school-aged child has asthma.
- 13 million school days are missed each year due to asthma.
Asthma Statistics in the District of Columbia:
- 11.8% of DC children have asthma (more than 1 in 10).
- 7.8% of DC adults have asthma.
- Over 7,000 hospital visits of DC children are due to asthma. Children in the DC area rank nationally among the highest in the rate of emergency department (ED) use for asthma.
- In the District, Wards 6, 7 and 8 have the lowest social economic status and also show the highest asthma prevalence. These Wards also have relatively high African American, Hispanic and Asians populations.
Project Summary
The prevalence of pediatric asthma in the District of Columbia (DC) is one of highest in the nation. Although asthma attacks are preventable, the high volume of emergency department visits in the District resulting from asthma indicates a lack of knowledge and an inability to prevent these attacks. Education on environmental asthma triggers and the proper management of asthma has been shown to reduce the burden of disease associated with asthma. Thus we propose a healthy homes project targeted at asthmatic children in the District with the goal of improving the quality of life of asthmatic children. The Healthy Asthma Homes will recruit 40 participants annually. An intervention will be offered by a respiratory therapist assisted by outreach workers. The intervention will consist of an environmental home assessment to indentify environmental indoor triggers and an asthma management session that will focus on imparting knowledge to assist residents in the proper management of the disease. The study will use a pre and post design with two visits spaced 3 months apart to measure any changes resulting from the intervention. Measures of quality of life, asthma management practices, knowledge of asthma triggers and proper management will be assessed through surveys.
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