Asthma Management Education among Low-Income Latinos: A Model for Intervention

The Asthma Management Pilot Program of the Latino Health Initiative of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services combines a number of innovative aspects that together address a serious public health problem of an under-served population in Montgomery County, Maryland. Launched in 2005, the Program draws on the assets of the Latino community to provide culturally and linguistically competent education on asthma management for Latino parents and caregivers of children with asthma. Through eight weekly educational sessions, participants, including parents, care givers, and children, learn about key issues in asthma control and their practical application. Children with asthma and their parents are identified through a partnership between the Latino Health Initiative and school-based programs, School Health Services, and community-based service providers. Participants are guided and supported by volunteer asthma management coaches, who maintain regular contact with them outside the sessions. The 2006 and 2007 pilot test of the intervention resulted in increases in the asthma knowledge (32%), the parents' perceived ability to manage their children's asthma (81%), and in the use of asthma action plans (160%), as well as in a parents' report of decrease in the number of visits to the emergency department (20%), school absences (45%), and days of restricted physical activity due to asthma (53%). Two tested curricula, one for the group sessions and the other for training the asthma management coaches as well as monitoring and evaluation tools can be used by other entities to replicate the model.