This originally appeared in an email blast from Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP).
RAMP and the California School-Based Health Alliance are pleased to announce the development of a new tool — the Asthma Environmental Intervention Guide for School-Based Health Centers. The purpose of this guide is to support school-based health center (SBHC) staff in leading or supporting evidence-based strategies and promising practices to reduce exposure to environmental asthma triggers. Although there is a broad array of evidence-based interventions to address asthma triggers, many people with asthma continue to be exposed to the factors that make their asthma worse. SBHCs are uniquely positioned to address this gap in order to help children breathe easier. While many SBHCs across the country are already playing a key role in helping students manage their asthma by providing quality clinical care and education there is an opportunity for SBHCs to also be leaders in managing the environmental factors that make asthma worse.
The guide describes the relationship between asthma and a number of environmental asthma triggers and shares scientific evidence that SBHC staff can cite when educating others on the need to address environmental asthma triggers. This is followed by five sections each tackling a strategy, or broad category of intervention, that SBHC staff could lead or support. They include:
- Education
- Case Management
- Improving Indoor Air Quality in Schools
- Improving the Students’ Home Environments
- Improving Outdoor Air Quality Around the School and Community
Each section provides an overview of the type of intervention, points to specific tools and resources, and suggests how SBHC staff can lead or support implementation. The array of interventions is intended to serve as a “menu” from which SBHC can choose depending on their interests, resources, and the particular needs of their patient population. While a comprehensive approach that works across settings and utilizes multiple strategies is likely most effective for reducing the burden of asthma, any step that SBHCs can take to reduce exposure to environmental asthma triggers will help students breathe easier. Reading this guide is the first step!
In order to help us evaluate the impact of this guide, we kindly ask you to take a brief survey before downloading the guide by clicking here. After you have clicked the “submit” button, you will be provided with a link to the guide.
Be sure to check out the At-A-Glance document for quick tips by clicking here.
Also, don’t miss the case studies, highlighting ways that SBHCs across the country are already succeeding in conducting environmental asthma interventions by clicking here.
Finally, please save the date — October 20th at 2pm Eastern Time (11am Pacific Time), when the School-Based Health Alliance will host a webinar about the guide.