Asthma in Children and Adolescents

Introduction

This professional resource guide directs readers to a selection of current, high-quality resources about asthma in children and adolescents, its prevalence, and its impact on homes, schools, and communities. The professional resource guide includes tools for improving asthma management and care and staying abreast of new developments in pediatric asthma research. It can be used by health professionals, program administrators, policymakers, researchers, and community advocates to learn more about the topic, for program development, and to locate training resources and information to answer specific questions. Separate sections point to resources about environmental triggers and medications and monitoring. Separate briefs focus on resources for families and resources about asthma management in school. The professional resource guide has been compiled by the MCH Digital Library at Georgetown University and will be updated periodically.

Overview

See Asthma and Children Fact Sheet (2010) by the American Lung Association (ALA), which briefly describes asthma symptoms, triggers, treatment, prevalence in the United States, mortality and hospitalizations, and health care costs, and the impact of asthma on school absenteeism. Also see the Child Trends data brief, Asthma (2010), which presents data about asthma in children and adolescents, including its prevalence, trends, and differences by gender, race and ethnicity, usual source of health care, type of insurance coverage, and food stamp receipt.

Resources for Professionals

Important resource: The main guidelines for managing asthma are the Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma (2007) by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP).

Websites

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Evidence-based information on health care outcomes; quality; and cost, use, and access. Links to evidence reports and research findings about children and adolescents with asthma. Presents a collection of tools for states to assess the quality of asthma care and create quality-improvement strategies. Includes an Asthma Return-on-Investment (ROI) Calculator for exploring potential financial returns from quality-improvement and disease-management programs. Offers access to the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC), and the National Quality Measures Clearinghouse™ (NQMC).
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI). Information about continuing education and training opportunities and research about pediatric asthma. Includes practice-management resources, policy statements, patient-education materials, and a research-related blog. Also see AAAAI's school tools and the National Allergy Bureau (NAB).
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Section on Allergy and Immunology. Information about education programs, clinical resources, and patient-education materials.
American Lung Association (ALA). Information about ALA's research, education, and advocacy efforts in the prevention, diagnosis, management, and treatment of asthma in children and adolescents. Also see ALA's Asthma Educator Institute, State of the Air, and the Asthma-Friendly Schools Initiative (AFSI).
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). Educational resources, patient-education materials, and information about AAFA's research and advocacy activities and certification program for asthma and allergy friendly products.
AsthmaCommunityNetwork.org. Information about community asthma programs, webinars, an events calendar, and an online tool for improving community asthma care. Interact with colleagues via discussion forums, a blog, and a series of polls. AsthmaCommunityNetwork.org is designed for community-based asthma programs and organizations that sponsor them. The network is supported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Asthma. Information and materials about pediatric asthma for health professionals, public health professionals, researchers, education professionals, and families. Resources and initiatives include National Asthma Control Program. Program highlights, guides, and state asthma contacts and programs for this national initiative that aims to reduce the number of deaths, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, school or work days missed, and limitations on activities due to asthma. Also see CDC's National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH).
Healthy People 2020. Information about this national health-promotion and disease-prevention initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services. View the overview, objectives, and recommended interventions and resources for respiratory diseases and environmental health.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Program information, clinical guidelines, and education tools about asthma including the seminar, Physician Asthma Care Education (PACE). Resources and initiatives include National Asthma Control Initiative (NACI). Information about and resources to support this initiative to improve asthma care, asthma control, and quality of life for people with asthma by engaging health professionals, consumers, schools and child care centers, professional associations, and others to overcome barriers to implementing the following guidelines: Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma (2007). Guidelines Implementation Panel Report for Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma. Partners Putting Guidelines into Action (2008). NACI is an initiative of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP), the program that developed the guidelines and report. Also see NACI's In the Know eNewsletter.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID): Asthma. Information about research to understand how the environment, allergens, and genetics interact with the body's own immune system to cause asthma and aggravate symptoms.

Reports, Briefs, and Other Resources

The MCH Digital Library has a collection of publications and other resources about asthma in children and adolescents. To view them, search the library's online catalog MCHLine® using the online search form. Type asthma in the keyword field and set publication date limits. Click on Search MCHLine to get your results.

Education Programs and Materials

American Lung Association (ALA): Asthma Educator Institute. Information about this 2-day preparatory course for those qualified to take the National Asthma Educator Certification Board (NAECB) examination.
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA): Educational Resources. Education programs and materials for health professionals and families. Some resources are available in Spanish.
Maternal and Child Health Training Program: Pediatric Pulmonary Centers. Information about and links to university-based centers funded to prepare health professionals to develop or improve community-based, family-centered health care for children with chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma. The training program is part of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI): Physician Asthma Care Education (PACE). Multimedia educational seminar designed to improve physician awareness, ability, and use of communication and therapeutic techniques for reducing the effects of asthma on children and their families. The seminar also provides instruction on how to document and code asthma counseling and on how to improve reimbursement for it.
See the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) PowerPoint presentation and speaker notes, Asthma: A Presentation of Asthma Management and Prevention, rev. ed. (2009).
See the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) for education programs and resources for health professionals about environmental asthma triggers.
See the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Section on Allergy and Immunology for continuing education information.
See AsthmaCommunityNetwork.org: Community Programs for information about several asthma education programs.
See the MCH Digital Library family resource brief, Asthma in Kids and Teens.

Data and Statistics

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Asthma Surveillance Data. Links to data on asthma prevalence, attacks, management, days of work or school lost, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations due to asthma.
Search the following databases for access to data and statistics about asthma in children and adolescents. The MCH Digital Library resource brief, Maternal and Child Health Data and Statistics, describes these databases and offers tips for searching them. Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DRC) Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP): HCUPnet Healthy People 2020: DATA2020 National Quality Measures Clearinghouse™ (NQMC)

Literature and Research Databases

Search the following databases for access to additional literature and research about asthma in children and adolescents. The MCH Digital Library resource brief, Maternal and Child Health Literature and Research Databases describes these databases and offers tips for searching them. ClinicalTrials.gov Healthy People 2020 Evidence-Based Resources Maternal and Child Health Research Program: Funded Projects Search Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT) PubMed PubMed Health TOXNET (Toxicology Data Network)

Programs Databases

Search the following databases for information about additional programs focusing on asthma in children and adolescents. The MCH Digital Library resource brief, Maternal and Child Health Programs Databases, describes these databases and offers tips for searching them. Community Pediatrics Grants Database Discretionary Grant Information System (DGIS) Health Care Innovations Exchange Health Services Research Projects in Progress (HSRProj) MCH Organizations Database

News and Commentary

AsthmaCommunityNetwork.org. Click on INTERACT to communicate with colleagues from community-based asthma programs and sponsoring organizations via discussion forums, a blog, and a series of polls.
National Asthma Control Initiative (NACI): In the Know eNewsletter. This quarterly electronic newsletter presents strategies, resources, and networking opportunities to advance best practices in asthma care and management.

Resources for Families

See the MCH Digital Library family resource brief Asthma in Kids and Teens.

Resources for Schools

See the MCH Digital Library school resource brief Asthma Management.

Resources on Specific Aspects of Asthma Management

Environmental Triggers

AIRNow. National air-quality information, including daily forecasts and real-time conditions for many cities across the United States. Offers publications about air quality and health. Sign up for EnviroFlash to receive a daily e-mail with an air-quality forecast and suggested safety measures when levels are unhealthy. AIRNow is a collaborative effort among several federal agencies, news media, and tribal, state, and local agencies.
American Lung Association (ALA): State of the Air. An annual report card and supporting resources on air pollution in communities across the nation.
Asthma Regional Council (ARC) of New England. Reports, guidelines, meeting materials, and other resources about asthma management, healthy homes, indoor and ambient air quality, integrated pest management, and asthma surveillance. ARC aims to reduce the impact of asthma across New England, through collaboration with health, housing, education, and environmental organizations with a particular focus on the contribution of schools, homes, and communities to the disease and with attention to its disproportionate impact on populations at greatest risk.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): National Center for Environmental Health. Information about asthma triggers. Initiatives include National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. A surveillance tool for tracking environmental exposures and chronic health conditions, such as asthma. Also see The Community Guide: Asthma Control for recommendations about home-based, multi-trigger, multi-component environmental interventions.
Children's Environmental Health Centers (CEHCs). Information about research investigating how environmental factors, such as air pollutants and secondhand smoke, may affect the development of asthma or the exacerbation of asthma symptoms in children and adolescents. CEHCs are supported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Clean Air Task Force (CATF). Reports, maps, and information about programs to address climate change, diesel emissions, and coal plant emissions. CATF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing atmospheric pollution through research, advocacy, and private sector collaboration.
County Health Rankings. Data profiles of the counties within each of the 50 states. Counties are ranked according to their health outcomes and the multiple health factors that determine a county's health, including the number of air pollution particulate matter days and the number of air pollution ozone days. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is collaborating with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute to develop these rankings.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Asthma. A wealth of information for health professionals, families, community advocates, and the media about indoor and outdoor environmental factors that trigger asthma. Resources for families include fact sheets, brochures, materials for children, and checklists about how to eliminate asthma triggers in homes. Resources for health professionals include new asthma studies and materials for helping consumers manage environmental asthma triggers. Also includes information about community outreach and education programs, video clips, and public service announcements about asthma. Some materials are available in Spanish. Initiatives include Asthma Awareness Month. A kit containing materials for planning community asthma-education events for Asthma Awareness Month each May.
National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH). Information about and resources to support research, education, training, and policies for public health and housing professionals to promote practical and cost-effective methods for making homes healthier. Topics include identifying and removing asthma triggers in the home. NCHH is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Resources include Healthy Housing Clearinghouse. An online catalog of journal articles, reports, and other materials about the connection between health and housing and safety hazards in the home. Type asthma in the keyword field and click on Search to identify publications on the topic. Pediatric Environmental Home Assessment: Tools for Public Health and Visiting Nurses. Forms for public health and visiting nurses to use to identify potential environmental hazards in homes and to address those hazards. Also offers an online training module, with video clips and photos, for conducting a pediatric environmental home assessment.
National Children's Study. Information about this study to examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of more than 100,000 children and adolescents across the United States, following them from before birth until age 21. The goal of the study is to improve children's health and well-being and to improve the prevention and treatment of health problems such as asthma. The study is being led by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in collaboration with a consortium of federal government partners.
National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF): Pediatric Asthma Initiative. Guidelines, PowerPoint presentations, and an environmental history form in English and Spanish to integrate environmental management of asthma into pediatric health care. The initiative is supported by several federal agencies.
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS): Asthma. Information about research on how the environment influences the development and exacerbation of asthma. Includes general information for families and educators about asthma and its environmental triggers. Resources include A Human Health Perspective on Climate Change: A Report Outlining the Research Needs on the Human Health Effects of Climate Change. (2010). [White paper]. One of the main sections covers asthma, respiratory allergies, and airway diseases.
National Library of Medicine (NLM): TOXNET (Toxicology Data Network). Collection of databases with bibliographic citations and data covering toxicology, hazardous chemicals, environmental health, and toxic releases. Databases include the Household Products Database and the Hazardous Substances Data Bank. Conduct a search by entering asthma AND (children OR adolescents) in the Search All Databases field. Click on Search to get your results.
HEI Panel on the Health Effects of Traffic-Related Air Pollution. 2010. Traffic-Related Air Pollution: A Critical Review of the Literature on Emissions, Exposure, and Health Effects. Boston, MA: Health Effects Institute. [Report].
Institute of Medicine (IOM). 2000. Clearing the Air: Asthma and Indoor Air Exposures. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. [Book].
Office of the Surgeon General. 2010. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease. A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: Office of the Surgeon General. [Report, Executive summary, Consumer booklet, Clinician sheet].
Office of the Surgeon General. 2009. The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes. Rockville, MD: Office of the Surgeon General.
Also see AAAAI's National Allergy Bureau (NAB) for current pollen and mold levels across the country.

Medications and Monitoring

HealthyChildren.org: Allergies and Asthma. Video clips about how to use inhalers and spacers and articles about asthma medications.
KidsHealth Asthma Center. Click on Medications and Monitoring for articles for families in English and Spanish about rescue and controller medications, peak flow meters, nebulizers, inhalers, and compliance. Includes an asthma action plan and an asthma diary.
See the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) report, Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma (2007). Component 4 addresses the two general classes of medications for asthma (i.e., long-term control medication and quick-relief medication).
See the MCH Digital Library resource brief Medications.

Related MCH Digital Library Resources

Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief
Community Services Locator: An Online Directory for Finding Community Services for Children and Families professional resource guide
Health Insurance and Access to Care for Children and Adolescents professional resource guide, family resource brief
Medications resource brief

Asthma in Children and Adolescents: Professional Resource Guide, 5th ed. (February 2011). (Updated: August 2014). Author: Susan Brune Lorenzo, M.L.S., MCH Digital Library. Reviewers: Ellen Bowser, R.D., L.D., University of Florida Pediatric Pulmonary Center; Cindy Capen, M.S.N., University of Florida Pediatric Pulmonary Center; Susan Horky, L.C.S.W., University of Florida Pediatric Pulmonary Center; Elizabeth M. Klements, M.S., P.N.P.–B.C., A.E.–C., Children’s Hospital Boston; Angela Miney, Family Partner, University of Florida Pediatric Pulmonary Center; Olivia Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., MCH Digital Library; Mary H. Wagner, M.D., University of Florida Pediatric Pulmonary Center; Elizabeth R. Woods, M.D., M.P.H, Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston. Editor: Ruth Barzel, M.A., MCH Digital Library.