The overall objective of this Asthma Academic Award proposal is to develop and evaluate a comprehensive, diverse, and far-reaching program in asthma education, management, an clinically oriented research. This application will provide a mechanism by which the vast academic, educational, and health-care delivery resources and expertise of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine can be integrated and expanded upon so as to synergistically enhance the asthma academic curriculum and patient care within economically disadvantaged and medically underserved minority communities of the urban Cleveland, Ohio area. In turn, by developing ambulatory educational opportunities at such outreach sites, undergraduate and graduate medical students from multiple primary care disciplines will be given the opportunity to learn about asthma pathophysiology and evaluate diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in an environment where this disease produces its greatest morbidity and mortality.
The specific aims of this proposal are to: 1) develop, implement, and critically evaluate a multi- faceted asthma curriculum which will impact upon the knowledge base and future practice patterns of medical students at all levels of training; interns and resident physicians in internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, and family practice; pulmonary fellows and academic pulmonolgists and allergists; University an inner city community-based primary care physicians; allied caregivers; and asthmatic patients and their families; 2) identify the magnitude of existing educational, medical, and research resources currently involved in or applicable to asthma within the Case Western Reserve University Medical School environment and integrate these assets to develop, implement, and assess the effects of community-based ambulatory teaching and clinical practice programs; 3) evaluate the effectiveness, general applicability, and future research directions of a medical education model grounded in subspecialty expertise and resources, whose purpose is to impact upon a prevalent and increasing primary care health problem. To achieve these specific aims students, physicians, allied health caregivers, and patients will be exposed to the most current concepts in asthma education and management as grounded in the principles and future directives put forth by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutes - National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. The curriculum will integrate didactic sessions, actual and computer simulated case materials, case-oriented group tutorial sessions, hands-on-ambulatory experiences and quality improvement approaches at high risk inner city practice sites, and current asthma research initiatives. Evaluation of the educational, clinical, and academic objectives will be ongoing and based i periodic structured questionnaires and examinations for students, medical caregivers, and patients designed to assess initial and subsequent needs, knowledge base, decision making ability, and program satisfaction. The results of these instruments will be analysed to identify future teaching, medical practice, and research goals.
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