World Asthma Day 2008


Take Measure, Gain Control
Asthma Action Plan for Chicago

Asthma should not hinder the quality of life or lifestyle of anyone with asthma, adults or children. Physicians, nurses and health professionals play an important role in establishing and maintaining control.

For World Asthma Day 2008, RHAMC and the Asthma Action Plan for Chicago are launching a new asthma campaign, Take Measure, Gain Control. This campaign strongly encourages and assists area healthcare providers to measure their patients' level of asthma control at every visit.

Asthma education materials and validated asthma control tools* to evaluate asthma control will be delivered to health care providers in Metropolitan Chicago. The assessment tools are filled out by the patient or parent and consist of a few simple questions that let the health providers know the status of control in their patient. These tools easily establish a protocol for assessing control in patients which is put in their medical record for referral.

A handful of assessment tools are available for providers to choose from, and are simple enough for patients to fill out in the waiting room. It will take the health providers a few seconds to know if the patients' asthma is in control. While these tools are readily available to health providers, they are underutilized.

*Assessment tools are available here:
ATAQ® (Adults): English | Spanish 
ATAQ® (Kids): English | Spanish
ACT® (Adults): English | Spanish
ACT® (Kids): English | Spanish

The campaign aims to encourage all health providers who see patients with asthma to use an assessment during every visit to help guide and modify therapy to ensure greater control. Incorporating this easy tool will help us change the face of asthma in Chicago. It is time to Take Measure, Gain Control.

 

CALLING ALL MEDICAL PROVIDERS!
Please sign our letter of endorsement for measuring control in all asthma patients. Cook County Commissioner Roberto Maldonado, Children's Memorial Hospital and the following organizations have pledged their support:

University of Chicago - Asthma & COPD Center     Chicago Asthma Consortium     The American Academy of Pediatrics - Illinois Chapter     Nursing AssemblyIllinois Academy of Family Physicians          Chicago Thoracic Society     Addressing Asthma in Englewood Project          Mobile Care     Illinois Maternal & Child Health Coalition     Roseland Community Hospital

     RICHTER     American College of Chest Physicians     Illinois Society of Respiratory Care

 

Fact about Uncontrolled Asthma
The Illinois Emergency Department Asthma Collaborative (IEDASP) recently reported their findings for children (n=128) and adults (n=225) who presented to Illinois emergency departments for an asthma exacerbation.

Children

  • 62.5% of children had two or more emergency department visits or hospitalizations in the prior 12 months
  • 73.3% reported persistent asthma symptoms
  • Only 53.2% of children with persistent symptoms reported using Inhaled corticosteroid medication prior to their emergency department visits

Adults

  • 37.2% reported having 3 or more emergency department visits in the prior 12 months
  • 85.8% reported persistent asthma symptoms
  • Only 54.4% of adults with persistent symptoms reported using inhaled corticosteroid medications prior to their emergency department visits

 

Asthma Action Plan for Chicago Background
Four years ago stakeholders from the asthma community convened at RHAMC to create the first Asthma Action Plan for Chicago. Designed to reduce the devastating toll of asthma on city residents, the Action Plan is revised annually to incorporate high-priority health policy goals. The Advisory Council of the Asthma Action Plan for Chicago meets quarterly and is led by Ted Naureckas, MD, University of Chicago and Cathy Catrambone, PhD, RN Rush University College of Nursing.