San Diego: Asthma Trigger Night

The San Diego Unified School District Nursing & Wellness Asthma Management Project and the American Lung Association San Diego chapter are primary members of the San Diego Regional Asthma Coalition. A sub-coalition group in City Heights/San Diego formed near the beginning of the cooperative agreement after a 12 year old child died at home of asthma. This group named itself the Community Asthma Task Force and members include the central region Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Nurses, School Nurses, the Coordinator of the Regional Asthma Coalition, a retired physician, a representative of the Children’s Hospital and the health services director of a public foundation of City Heights.

Monthly meetings were convened to explore the current state of asthma in City Heights and to begin to understand the dynamics or factors that may have been involved in the young girl’s death. Sharing with each other the systems approach of the public health department, the school district and some of the medical records of the child we examined the way we move children with asthma through the public institutions.

Hopefully we have learned or refined some of our practice. This is the intent of the CDC/DASH cooperative agreement to help schools and neighborhoods become Asthma Friendly through the involvement of vital stakeholders and children with asthma.

We held a press conference on World Asthma Day in May of 2009. A County Supervisor led a group of other speakers regarding asthma management and the need for Asthma Action Plans. Asthma Night at the City Heights Wellness Center was held in May 2010. The majority of the parents that meet monthly at the Wellness Center are immigrants from East Africa, mostly Somalia. Other residents are from Latin America. Thirty six parents attended the event. They received information about our School Management initiative, about how to obtain an Asthma Action Plan from their health care provider and information about the City of San Diego Healthy Homes Project. Please see the attached announcement flyer for more information. We have not had time to evaluate outcomes as the event was just held last month.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT

Stephen Martin
San Diego Unified School District
smartin5@sandi.net
Sandi.net