Use of Community Health Workers to improve asthma management: Working with community partners to tackle the problem

Approximately 25% of children living in the predominantly African American disadvantaged, Chicago community of North Lawndale (NL) suffer from asthma, a rate twice the national prevalence (13%). With a poverty rate four times higher than the national rate, NL is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the US. Our prior research has shown that NL children with asthma are frequent utilizers of the emergency department, are unlikely to be properly medicated or educated on asthma self-management, and face a multitude of competing issues. Healthy Home, Healthy Child: The Westside Children's Asthma Partnership (HHHC) is an innovative approach to improving asthma management among socially marginalized, NL children. Community Health Workers (CHW) recruited from the community deliver home-based asthma education tailored to the specific needs of the individual families. Visits focus on improving asthma management by educating caregivers to better manage asthma medically, while also addressing asthma triggers in the home environment. HHHC is a collaboration building on the strengths of partner agencies and receiving guidance from a Community Advisory Board. Partner agencies, including housing advocates, pro bono attorneys, and case managers, provide assistance in addressing issues beyond the CHW's expertise. The CHW Supervisor will present on the successes and challenges of the HHHC collaborative approach, using case examples to document how partnerships can tackle social issues that impede upon a family's ability to manage a child's asthma. Preliminary data related to the education, social, housing and legal needs of clients will be presented.