Childhood Asthma

Commentary

At the Nexus of the Health Care System and the Community

Asthma is a common and expensive childhood condition that erodes quality of life for kids and families. Researchers sought to identify patient-centered interventions to reduce avoidable asthma-related acute care use and improve outcomes. They found that the solutions lie at the nexus of the health care system and the community.

Journal Article

Cluster Analysis of Acute Care Use Yields Insights for Tailored Pediatric Asthma Interventions

Care patterns for pediatric asthma can help identify differences between types of patients - and possible ways to reduce avoidable hospitalizations.

Journal Article

The "Retrofitting" Approach to Adapting Evidence-Based Interventions: A Case Study of Pediatric Asthma Care Coordination, United States, 2010–2014

This case study of pediatric asthma care coordination found preliminary support for the validity of retrofitting concept--adapting evidence-based modifications rather than entirely new interventions.

Journal Article

Rehospitalization for Childhood Asthma: Timing, Variation, and Opportunities for Intervention

Significant variation in asthma rehospitalization rates exists across children's hospitals from 7 to 365 days after an index admission.

Commentary

Can the Affordable Care Act Help Asthma Sufferers Breathe Easier?

ACA reforms can potentially address barriers that get in the way of individuals with asthma getting the care they need. At the population level, the law has the potential to improve outcomes and efficiency and equity of services for chronic conditions such as asthma for which cost-effective preventive treatments exist.

Journal Article

Reducing Quality-of-Care Disparities in Childhood Asthma: La Red De Asma Infantil Intervention in San Juan, Puerto Rico

The objective of this study was to describe our experience in reducing quality-of-care disparities among Puerto Rican children with asthma by adapting 2 existing evidence-based asthma interventions.

Journal Article

Anti-inflammatory Medication Adherence, Healthcare Utilization and Expenditures Among Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program Enrollees with Asthma

Underuse of controller therapy among Medicaid-enrolled children is common and leads to more emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations.

Journal Article

The Association of Health Insurance and Disease Impairment with Reported Asthma Prevalence in U.S. Children

Journal Article

Balancing "Fidelity" and Community Context in the Adaptation of Asthma Evidence-Based Interventions in the "Real World"

The Merck Childhood Asthma Network (MCAN) initiative selected five sites (New York City, Puerto Rico, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia) to engage in translational research to adapt evidence-based interventions (EBIs) to improve childhood asthma outcomes. The authors summarize the sites' experience.

Journal Article

Community-Based Care Coordination: Practical Applications for Childhood Asthma

An alternative approach employs community-based care coordinators who bridge gaps between families, health care providers, and support services. Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc. (MCAN) sites developed community-based care coordination approaches for childhood asthma.

Journal Article

The In Vivo Adherence Intervention for at Risk Adolescents with Asthma: Report of a Randomized Pilot Trial

Low-income and minority adolescents are at high risk for poor asthma outcomes, due in part to adherence.

Journal Article

Quality of Care for Childhood Asthma: Estimating Impact and Implications

We conducted a review of 164 relevant publications to consolidate the evidence on gaps in the quality of asthma care, the impact of those gaps, and the costs and benefits of closing those gaps.

Research Brief

Out of the Ivory Tower, Into the Real World: Examples of Street-Smart Community Health Research

Discusses the potential of community-based participatory research (CBPR) to reduce the burden of chronic health problems on poor and minority neighborhoods and describes three successful CBPR programs.

Journal Article

Heterogeneity of Childhood Asthma Among Hispanic Children: Puerto Rican Children Bear a Disproportionate Burden

To estimate differences in asthma prevalence among Hispanic subgroups and non-Hispanic children living in the United States

Journal Article

Improved Asthma Care After Enrollment in the State Children's Health Insurance Program in New York

Enrollment in New York's SCHIP was associated with improvements in access to asthma care, quality of asthma care, and asthma-specific outcomes.

Journal Article

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Asthma Diagnosis Among Children Who Wheeze

Racial and ethnic disparities exist in reported childhood asthma prevalence, but it is unclear if disparities stem from true prevalence differences.

Journal Article

Improving Childhood Asthma Outcomes in the United States: A Blueprint for Policy Action

Asthma is increasingly being recognized as an important public health concern for children in the United States. The objective of this project was to create a blueprint for improvement of national policy in this area.

Research Brief

How to Improve Childhood Asthma Outcomes: A Blueprint for Policy Action

This research brief describes work documented in MR-1330-RWJ and MR-1330/1-RWJ.

Report

Improving Childhood Asthma Outcomes in the United States: A Blueprint for Policy Action: A Description of Group Process Methods Used to Generate Committee Recommendations

Over the course of 2000, RAND Health engaged an interdisciplinarycommittee of nationally recognized leaders in childhood asthma in a structured group process to arrive at the policy recommendations proposed in Improving Childhood Asthma Outcomes in the United States: A Blueprint for Policy Action.

Report

Improving Childhood Asthma Outcomes in the United States: A Blueprint for Policy Action

A set of policy recommendations to promote the development and maintenance of communities in which children with asthma can be swiftly diagnosed, effectively treated, and protected from exposure to harmful environmental factors.