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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Mary Kreger, Dr PH¹, Dana Hughes, DrPH¹, Mary Beth Love, PhD², Vicki Legion, MPH², Jeni Miller, PhD², Rebecca Dorman, MPH¹, Savi Malik, MPH³, and Peter Long, PhD⁴. (1) Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Suite 265, San Francisco, CA 94118, 415-502-4544, mary.kreger@ucsf.edu, (2) Department of Health Education, San Francisco State University, HSS 326, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, CA 94132, (3) Community Heatlh Works, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway, HSS 301, San Francisco, CA 94132, (4) The California Endowment, 1000 North Alameda St., Los Angels, CA 90012

Despite well-established guidelines for effective asthma care, children in low income, minority, and immigrant communities suffer disproportionately higher incidence of, as well as health consequences from asthma. A number of clinic providers have undertaken the task of providing prevention-oriented, NIH guideline based clinical care to children with asthma, using a community model that integrates medical and wrap-around community services. The critical challenge in these programs is designing local and state policies that provide financial sustainability for the clinical, community, and environmental aspects of these programs. This paper presents an overview of programs from across the nation that address these issues. An analysis is presented for the integration of critical aspects of these programs into a community clinic system.

Issues discussed include: core elements of an asthma clinic; reimbursement strategies for preventive services; quality assurance and quality improvement; cost analysis; financing strategies; and diffusion of model programs.

Methods and results: A combination of interviews and discussions with national and California asthma experts were used to collect data for this paper.

Conclusion: Policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels need to fund asthma treatment and prevention services to reduce health disparities and reduce the costs of asthma exacerbations that could be prevented. Critical factors for success in this endeavor are discussed.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to define and discuss the types of challenges faced by chronic disease treatment and prevention programs. Additionally, applicable strategies used for successful programs will be discussed.

Keywords: Asthma, Chronic Diseases

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation