Reducing Emergency Department Visits and Improving Environmental and Health Outcomes in Adults with Asthma Enrolled in a Home-based CHW Intervention

Mount Sinai Hospital is located on the Westside of Chicago where there is a disproportionate prevalence of asthma among adults. In 2012, Mount Sinai Hospital’s 30-day readmission rate for asthma was 8.1%, a figure that is 3.2 times higher than the national rate.

This presentation will be given by a CHW and describes the CHW-based approach to reduce ED visits and improve asthma outcomes among adults enrolled in the Helping Chicago’s Westside Adults Breathe and Thrive program.  CHW interventions are proven to be effective at addressing pediatric asthma; however, this program is among the first ever CHW-led asthma interventions to focus on adults.

CHWs make 5-6 home visits over the course of the year-long intervention, providing comprehensive and individualized asthma education to adults with poorly controlled asthma. They work closely with participants to conduct home environmental assessments to identify possible asthma triggers and how to avoid them, promote smoking cessation, and address patient comorbidities.

Preliminary results are based on 40 adults who have completed six months of the year-long intervention.  There is significant reduction from baseline to the six month follow-up in daytime symptoms (59.7%), nighttime symptoms (44.8%), and days needed rescue medication (35.6%). ED visits were reduced by 56.4%. CHWs are an effective means of improving asthma symptoms and reducing urgent health care visits among adults with severe asthma. These findings from this innovative CHW-led asthma intervention have the potential to influence policy by demonstrating that CHWs significantly improve health disparities and decrease healthcare costs, in Chicago and beyond.