Resource Bank

Childhood asthma rates appear to have stopped rising among many U.S. groups, but not among the poorest kids or children aged 10 and older, a study by Lara J. Akinbami, Alan E. Simon, and Lauren M. Rossen suggests.

The number of Americans diagnosed with asthma has grown dramatically, with high-crime cities being hit especially hard. In a joint report with The Detroit News, special correspondent Indira Lakshmanan examines emerging research that indicates stress, abuse and violence may play as big a role as physical factors in triggering both asthma attacks and the development of the chronic disease.

When integrated into the electronic health record (EHR) and clinical workflow, clinical decision support (CDS) can enhance health care quality and improve patient outcomes.1 Using computerized alerts, reminders, forms, templates, data reports, evidence-based protocols, and other tools, CDS organizes, filters, and presents clinical knowledge and patient-specific information to guide decisions at the point of care.2 This brief discusses how an asthma CDS tool can promote the consistent use of clinical practice guidelines for asthma, and how incorporating a referral form template can promote wider use of in-home asthma programs as an effective complement to asthma care in clinical settings.

As a follow-up to the 2010 Changing pO2licy Report, The George Washington University authored additional briefs to highlight key policy issues related to childhood asthma. These briefs were supported by MCAN and the RCHN Community Health Foundation.