The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #67250

Diane R. Estrin, BS, Community Action to Fight Asthma: A Project of Community Health Works/SFSU, 1515 Clay Street, Suite 1700, Oakland, CA 94612, 510.622.4444, diane@calasthma.org

Community Action to Fight Asthma (CAFA), is a three year initiative funded by The California Endowment and coordinated by Community Health Works of San Francisco State University. It is a statewide effort to implement environmental interventions and policy changes that reduce indoor and outdoor environmental risk factors for school aged children with asthma in California. Many asthma programs focused exclusively on clinical management and education now recognize the importance of addressing environmental concerns to effectively manage asthma over the long term. Unlike the clinical arena where there are national asthma guidelines to follow, few models exist that support efforts to incorporate long-term policy changes for the reduction of environmental triggers. CAFA's model demonstrates the impact of a new statewide structure consisting of a state office, four regional centers and twelve local coalitions for the creation of environmental policies. Representatives from CAFA's state and regional centers will present the impact of this model and an overview of successes and challenges to date. This project is a template for enacting environmental policy changes at the state, regional, and local levels for the reduction of the incidence and severity of asthma in the environments where school-aged children live, learn and play.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of this session participants in the session will b e able to
• 1.Develop a structure for successful implementation of environmental policy on a statewide, regional and community level for children with asthma.
• 2.Learn systematic methods to identify statewide, regional and local policy needs.
• 3.Prioritize technical assistance needs for successful policy development and implementation on state, regional and local levels.
• 4.Identify successful low cost policies leading to the reduction of the incidence and severity of asthma in the environments where school-aged children live, learn and play.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.