Asthma affects 7 million children each year and disproportionately affects African-American children and children living in urban areas. From 2001 through 2009 asthma rates increased the most among black children, almost a 50% increase. As one of the leading causes of school absence, students miss about 13 million school days each year. Asthma is a prominent chronic childhood disease and a cause of childhood disability. The disease encumbers affected children and their families, with limits to learn, play and even sleep. The related high healthcare costs and poor quality of life could be significantly improved if practitioners and families can be convinced to more consistently follow known ideal methods of care - as embodied in the NHLBI Asthma Guidelines. As part of a multi-faceted asthma quality improvement program, beginning in 2009 Nationwide Children's Hospital began hosting an Annual Pediatric Asthma Conference aimed at providing new information and practical advice regarding asthma care for community and hospital care providers of asthma patients. A robust variety of health care providers, including physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, social workers, and clinic staff have participated. Over the next five years the conference seeks to expand with the following aims: 1) provide a specialized program for school nurses school nurses, 2) have a training program for Certified Asthma Educators 3) implement a day long education camp for asthma patients and their families 4) expand the conference from central Ohio to statewide to regional to national. The conference has drawn the largest audience in the Midwest and seeks to grow and include the many different professionals and lay persons who are involved in the care of children with asthma. By providing scholarship for school nurses in years 1-5 and for families in years 4 and 5, the conference seeks to recruit participants from disadvantaged groups who may not already be receiving asthma education and enlarge asthma care. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANC: Asthma affects 7 million children each year and disproportionately affects African-American children and children living in urban areas. As a leading cause of school absence, related high healthcare costs and poor quality of life, asthma care could be significantly improved if practitioners and families know and follow to own ideal methods of care - as embodied in the NHLBI Asthma Guidelines. The conference has provided education for health professional in the past and seeks to expand the audience to include other who are equally important in the health care of the child with asthma- school nurses, asthma educators and families. The proposed future years of the conference will also target first a regional and then a national audience.
Asthma affects 7 million children each year and disproportionately affects African-American children and children living in urban areas. As a leading cause of school absence, related high healthcare costs and poor quality of life, asthma care could be significantly improved if practitioners and families know and follow to own ideal methods of care - as embodied in the NHLBI Asthma Guidelines. The conference has provided education for health professional in the past and seeks to expand the audience to include others who are equally important in the health care of the child with asthma- school nurses, asthma educators and families. The proposed future years of the conference will also target first a regional and then a national audience.
