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Mary Kreger, DrPH1, Claire Brindis, DrPH2, Herebeto Escamilla, PhD3, Marion Standish, JD4, and Diane Manuel, PhD4. (1) Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Suite 265, San Francisco, CA 94114, 415-502-4544, mkreger@itsa.ucsf.edu, (2) Center for Reproductive Health Research and Policy, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Suite 265, San Francisco, CA 94143-0936, (3) Philliber Research Associates, 2772 Wilma Street, National City, CA 91950, (4) The California Endowment, 101 -- 2nd Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Purpose: The Community Action to Fight Asthma Initiative funded by The California Endowment provides funding to nineteen local, regional, and state-level coalitions and technical assistance providers across California. The goals of the Initiative are to develop strategies for reducing environmental asthma “triggers” for school-aged children in order to decrease health disparities. Approaches to this issue include the following: · Analyze data related to environmental asthma “triggers”, · Develop educational strategies, · Develop an intervention to reduce environmental asthma triggers, · Develop policy. The categories of interventions developed were (1) school-based, (2) home, and (3) outdoor air. The evolution of the Initiative and stages of development were evaluated.
We will discuss the evolution of the Initiative, coalition formation, defining the overlap between clinical and primary prevention endeavors, and the types of technical assistance that were instrumental in this process.
Methods and results: A combination of surveys, interviews, and collaborative approaches were used to evaluate the coalitions and the networks that formed the infrastructure. Creating clear decision-making mechanisms and access to critical types of technical assistance were essential to make efficient use of coalition resources.
Conclusion: Community and state-level coalitions can effectively develop the skills to adapt to policy work across a large state. Specific types of technical assistance facilitate this process.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Asthma, Primary Prevention
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.