Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Wynona Black, MPH¹, Vanessa Curtis, RRT¹, Andrea Peterson-Brown, BSN¹, Sheniz A. Moonie, PhD², Richard S. Kurz, PhD³, Kristin D. Wilson, MHA⁴, and Mario Castro, MD, MPH, AE-C¹. (1) Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110-1093, 314-362-3849, wblack@im.wustl.edu, (2) Office of Epidemiology, Clark County Health District, PO Box 3902, Las Vegas, NV 89127, (3) Department of Health Management and Policy, Saint Louis University School of Public Health, 3545 Lafayette Ave., St. Louis, MO 63104, (4) St. Louis University School of Public Health, Salus Center Rm. 350, 3545 Lafayette, St. Louis, MO 63104

Background: Asthma is a common disease that disproportionately affects minority and urban dwelling communities. Research has demonstrated that healthcare providers often underestimate patient asthma severity and prescribe medications inappropriately (Moonie et al J Asthma 2005). The Community Asthma Program (CAP) is an urban health education program designed to train healthcare providers to properly assess asthma severity and provide asthma care in accordance to the National Asthma Education and Prevent Program (NAEPP) guidelines.

Implementation of CAP requires identification/participation by early adopters, or champions in the healthcare setting, provider education, and engagement in process and outcome evaluations. CAP has been implemented in a variety of practice settings including multi-site, federally-qualified health centers and private physician offices. CAP is designed to adapt to institutional characteristics to facilitate implementation and sustain program participation.

Methods: CAP includes several evaluative measures to assess the impact of the program on healthcare provider behaviors and participant outcomes, including knowledge assessments, chart reviews, forms completed during an office visit, and insurance claims data.

Results: CAP is currently implemented in 11 healthcare settings. Prior to implementation, only 25% of charts reviewed indicated asthma severity. After implementation, 57% of charts included an assessment of severity. Furthermore, CAP has shown a decrease in ED (p=0.03) and hospitalization costs (p=0.06) after implementation.

Conclusion: Training healthcare providers in appropriate asthma care can positively affect asthma management behaviors and improve participant outcomes.

Supported by a grant from the CDC U59/ CCU723263 and the St. Louis Regional Asthma Consortium

Learning Objectives: Following this presentation the audience will be able to

• List the process and outcome evaluation measures for the Community Asthma Program.
• Discuss the impact of provider education on provider behavior.
• Articulate the affect of provider education on participant outcomes.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered