The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #53187

Anne Kelsey, MPH, RAMP, Public Health Institute, 1515 Clay Street, Suite 1700, Oakland, CA 94612, 5106225091, anne@rampasthma.org

The Regional Asthma Management & Prevention (RAMP) Initiative, a project of the Public Health Institute, funded by The California Endowment, aims to reduce asthma morbidity and mortality across a five-county region in the San Francisco Bay Area through the facilitation of diverse organizations, institutions, and community residents that collaborate in the enhancement of clinical and community based systems. Recognizing that asthma is a complex disease, RAMP utilizes a multi-tiered approach. At the community level, RAMP provides technical assistance to neighborhood coalitions and supports community health outreach workers who are the connection between the coalition and residents with asthma. These community efforts are linked to the activities in each county through RAMP’s assistance to five county-wide coalitions. At the regional level, RAMP convenes an advisory committee that reviews the activities in each of the counties, and identifies similar needs across the region. Based on these needs, RAMP then guides region-wide activities that enhance all of the counties. Since its inception six years ago, RAMP has proven to be an effective model for addressing asthma. It has been used as a model to develop other programs and could be replicated in other locations and applied to other chronic conditions. Through a conference workshop, RAMP would demonstrate the advantages and impact of a multi-tiered regional model. Speakers would include the RAMP Director and a representative from each tier, who would describe the unique value of asthma activity at their respective tier, and the benefit of the regional model to their own work.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
• Recognize the unique value of asthma-related activities at a community level, a county level, and a regional level;
• Articulate the benefits of a regional collaborative approach to address asthma morbidity and mortality;
• Apply lessons learned to their own coalitions or chronic disease programs.

Keywords: Asthma, Coalition

Related Web page: www.rampasthma.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.