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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Stephanie Moen, RCP, RRT, Tulare County Asthma Coalition, 869 Cherry Street, Tulare, CA 93274, 559-685-3494, smoen@tdhs.org

In Central California, the astonishing increase in asthma rates is affecting the entire community. The health care industry is deeply impacted by the high cost of caring for asthmatics, employers are suffering declining production due to sick time use, and city officials are scrambling to work on ways to decrease environmental triggers while growing at an expeditious rate. Schools are suffering with high rates of absenteeism costing the districts millions of dollars. P.E. teachers and coaches are frustrated and bewildered with the high number of students on the sidelines with inhalers. Students are experiencing decreases in learning opportunities. A grassroots based community asthma coalition has a unique role in organizing schools to collaborate in programs with policy change that can reduce exposure to triggers, improving health. The process is aimed to gain the trust of school officials, work through strategic planning goals, and implement programs with policies that improve the environment. An example, implementing a low-allergy plants program intended to reduce outdoor allergy triggers. Districts adopt a policy to plant only low-allergy plants in all new schools and work on transitioning older landscaping to low-allergy. Indoor air quality is attacked by implementing EPA's Tools for Schools program. Schools take on a policy to implement and sustain a proven program to reduce indoor triggers. The coalition is the driving force, accomplishing goals through relationship building strategies, operational activities, and planned sustainability to form a local community based agenda to improve health and awareness of environmental triggers.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. List ways to collaborate and organize a grassroots organization to accomplish policy change in local community.
• 2. Discuss a strategic plan to guide schools in implementing policy change to reduce environmental triggers.

Keywords: Collaboration, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation