Background: Although asthma-related hospitalizations and emergency visits are higher among children <5 than among 5-9 year olds, most asthma management programs have focused on school-age children. Objective: To develop an asthma training program for child care providers. Methods: We developed three tools to promote asthma management among child care providers: a screening form to be completed by parents, a training program for child care providers, and an asthma handbook for both child care providers and parents. The training program was piloted with 74 child care providers in Harlem and expanded to a coalition of 21 child care centers in NYC. These centers used the screening form with their parents and are implementing an asthma management program. The "Asthma Solutions Handbook" guides their activities. It contains information about asthma and asthma management, with sections specifically designed for child care providers and parents. The handbook describes asthma-educational activities that can be done at home or at the center. Results: The need for the program is great, with the screening forms identifying 20% of the children with diagnosed asthma. Child care providers report no longer being fearful about asthma and have confidence in understanding the needs of children with asthma. The centers are assisting parents in providing better asthma management. The handbook is valuable because it contains all pertinent materials in one place. Most importantly, the child care providers have readily been able to incorporate fun, educational activities about asthma into their program.
Learning Objectives: To identify the elements needed to develop an asthma support program in child care settings ; To learn at least one interactive game to involve parents and providers in asthma education.
Keywords: Asthma, Child Care
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