Participate in Asthma Awareness Month!
Each May, thousands of organizations across the U.S. join together for Asthma Awareness Month (AAM) in an effort to increase public awareness about the nation’s asthma epidemic and to take action to get asthma under control in communities nationwide. Asthma affects almost 25 million people of all ages and races in the U.S.; however, public awareness of common asthma triggers and effective asthma management strategies remains limited. Scroll down to learn how you can promote your program's Asthma Awareness Month activities on AsthmaCommunityNetwork.org.
Browse AAM Events
Check out the Events Calendar and use the widget on the right hand side of the page to search for AAM events in your community!
Join the national effort in promoting Asthma Awareness. Put this widget on your Web page. Click here for the code!
Identify Partners in Your Community
Search the Community Program Profiles on AsthmaCommunityNetwork.org to find programs in your area to partner with and host events. Promote your events by posting them on the Events Calendar!
Find and Share Resources
Search the Resource Bank to inform your program’s work. The Resource Bank has everything from checklists and asthma action plans to education and outreach materials and community health worker tools.
To search for what you need, use the advanced search feature:
- Visit the Resource Bank.
- Click on the “show advanced search” button.
- Check the boxes under “Resource Category,” “Resource Type,” “Language,” “Literacy Level,” and “Target Audience” based on your resource needs.
- Click the “search” button at the bottom of the page.
- To start a new search, click the “start new search button.”
To share your program’s resources:
- Visit the Resource Bank.
- In the green box on the page, click the "add your resource" button.
- Complete the fields and upload your resource.
- Make sure to click the "save" button at the bottom of the page to add your resource.
- To add another resource, simply repeat steps 1-4 above.
Check out these Top Five Resources:
- Guide to Asthma Policy for Housing and Schools
American Lung Association - School Flag Program
EPA Asthma Team - Asthma Clinical Guidelines Flip Chart
AH! Asthma Health - Asthma Triggers Coloring Book
EPA Region 4 - Environmental Improvements for Children’s Asthma: The Impact on Symptom Burden and Return on Investment of a Home-Based Environmental Assessment and Modification Project
American Lung Association of Minnesota
Plan AAM Events
Download EPA’s Asthma Awareness Month Event Planning Kit, which features new ideas for outreach and awareness activities, tips for working with the media, success stories and much more.
Add AAM Events
Publicize your community’s AAM Event on the AsthmaCommunityNetwork.org Events Calendar. Make sure to designate it as an "Asthma Awareness Month" event so others can easily recognize that your event is part of this national effort.
Have Multiple Events?
Add each event separately to maximize your marketing impact. You’ll also be able to track how many people RSVP for each event.
Read and Share AAM Stories
After your event takes place, let other AsthmaCommunityNetwork.org members know how it went by writing a blog post. This is a quick, easy way to share your successes with the community. You can even upload pictures from your events! Your stories can also help others in planning their own successful events.
View Popular Videos, Podcasts and Webinars
Check out the Multimedia page to view videos and podcasts, and the Webinars page to watch popular webinars on a variety of asthma management topics.
Asthma Webinars
Asthma webinars present the latest knowledge and information from leading experts and asthma management program champions from across the country. Offered at no-cost, webinars are an opportunity to discover state of the art tools and resources, learn effective strategies in asthma program design and delivery, engage the experts through question and answer sessions, and contribute to the discussion through interactive polling features.
Whether you recently attended a webinar or need more information, access the archived presentation materials and audio/visual recordings below to learn more about home environmental interventions, best practices for asthma management, program evaluation basics, housing code enforcement, and more.
Search and View Webinars:
Communities in Action: Leadership Voices Sharing Best Practices
Tracy Enger (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), Amanda Reddy (New York State Health Neighborhoods Program) and Margaret Reid (Boston Public Health Commission)
1 February 2012
Listen to Amanda Reddy and Margaret Reid describe how their programs have formed effective collaborations to address healthy homes and asthma outcomes. Learn the value of designing a collaborative effort and accounting for results; the benefits of integrating environmental management throughout the continuum of clinical care; and the success behind evaluating strategies, assessments and interventions so that you can take action to increase healthy homes collaboration in your community.
Schools and Asthma
Heidi LeSane and LaShon Blakely (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), Dorothy Mabry (Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families), Stephanie Hall (Georgia Department of Public Health)
24 October 2011
Listen to Heidi LeSane LaShon Blakely, Dorothy Mabry and Stephanie Hall share their experiences working with Head Start and Child Care communities in two Georgia counties to better integrate asthma education into program activities. Learn how you can apply their best practices and resources to create effective partnerships with federal, state and local agencies and integrate asthma education into your local Head Start and Child Care programs.
Medical Legal Housing
15 June 2010
Learn about the value of medical-legal partnerships and how you can start one in your community. Megan Sandel, Samantha Morton and Marcia Peters demonstrate the benefits of medical-legal partnerships and its positive impact on housing conditions in asthma.
Schools and Asthma
Dr. Robert Geller and Dr. Leslie Rubin, Emory Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit
13 May 2010
Asthma experts Dr. Robert Geller and Dr. Leslie Rubin from the Emory Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit share their expertise, best practices and resources schools can use to develop an asthma management program.
Targeted Home Environmental Interventions Webinar Series
Tursynbek Nurmagambetov, CDC National Center for Environmental Health
3 December 2009
Continue to explore asthma control through home-based interventions and evaluate the economic implications of these interventions. Tursynbek Nurmagambetov from the CDC National Center for Environmental Health, examines economic evaluations in public health and demonstrate the value for home-based environmental interventions.
Targeted Home Environmental Interventions Webinar Series
Gema Dumitru, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
1 October 2009
Learn more about asthma control and multi-trigger, multi-component home intervention programs through the CDC Community Guide. Gema Dumitru from the CDC demonstrates the impact of these interventions on the quality of life, health care utilization and productivity for people with asthma; and presents the applicability, barriers to implementation, and additional benefits of these interventions.
Program Evaluation Basics
Catherine Rasberry, CDC Division of Adolescent and School Health
18 June 2009
Catherine Rasberry, a Health Scientist with the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health describes important considerations for applying the CDC Framework for Program Evaluation to the design and implementation of school-based asthma program evaluations.
Housing Code Enforcement
Boston's Breathe Easy at Home (BEAH)
5 March 2009
The Asthma Webinar on Housing Code Enforcement focused on how Boston's Breathe Easy at Home (BEAH) Team developed an innovative Web-based technology to link health care providers with public health service home inspections. Panelists discussed how the application of this technology enhances asthma management through clinician referral for public health services. You will also find the answers to all of the great questions asked during the webinar posted here.
Panelists included:
* Margaret Reid, RN, BA, Director, Division of Healthy Homes and Community Support, Boston Public Health Commission
* Megan Sandel, MD, MPH, FAAP, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center
* Dion Irish, BS, MUA, Assistant Commissioner of Housing, City of Boston, Inspectional Services Department
* Amanda LaSane, BA, Breathe Easy at Home Program Coordinator, Boston Public Health Commission
Program Evaluation Basics
Dr. Christina Christie of Claremont Graduate University
4 February 2009
Dr. Christina Christie of Claremont Graduate University presents an overview on gathering and using data for program bench-marking, improvement, and accountability. Drawing upon engaging field examples, Dr. Christie discusses key concepts and approaches for using data, as well as the importance of a comprehensive communications strategy to disseminate findings.
Program Evaluation Basics
Tom Chapel
17 December 2008
This webinar explores the concept and uses of Logic Models. Tom Chapel draws from examples in previous webinars to illustrate the approaches and considerations program planners and evaluators can use to employ this powerful tool.