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Asthma-related Publications and Resources

Clearing the Air: 10 Steps to Making Your Home Asthma-Friendly

This short step-by-step guidance provides helpful hints for comprehensive asthma management. (available here as Adobe Acrobat PDF files in English [EPA 402-F-04-017 May 2004] and Spanish [EPA 402-F-04-018 May 2004])

Asthma Fact Sheet

The Asthma Fact Sheet highlights most up-to-date asthma statistics. (available here as Adobe Acrobat PDF files in English [EPA 402-F-04-019, May 2004]  and Spanish [EPA 402-F-04-020 May 2004])

Dusty The Asthma Goldfish and His Asthma Triggers Funbook

  Dusty the asthma goldfishDusty Check out EPA's new Dusty The Asthma Goldfish and His Asthma Triggers Funbook. This is an educational tool to help parents and children learn more about asthma triggers.   Available as an adobe acrobat PDF - dustythegoldfish_en.pdf  (1.06MB file) [EPA 402-F-04-008 February 2004]

PARA PADRES E HIJOS - �chele un vistazo a la nueva revista de mu�equitos del EPA, Dusty La Carpa Dorada del Asma y Sus Provocadores de Asma.  La revista es una herramienta educacional para ayudar a padres e hijos a conocer m�s sobre las cosas que provocan los ataques de asma. Disponible en Ingl�s y Espa�ol dustythegoldfish_sp.pdf [EPA 402-F-04-009 February 2004]

Asthma Program Poster:  Improving Health Outcomes for People with Asthma

The Indoor Environments Asthma Program is increasing public awareness and action to manage environmental asthma triggers so people with asthma can reduce asthma attacks, emergency room visits, and missed school/work days, and lead fuller lives. This poster highlights improvements in health outcomes resulting from interventions to manage asthma triggers in the home.  The poster is available here as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file - science_forum_poster.pdf

Asthma Home Environment Checklist

As part of EPA's nationwide asthma public education and outreach program, the Agency is working with the healthcare community to improve the quality of care for children with asthma by incorporating environmental controls into comprehensive asthma management programs (AMPs). Home visits, a component of many comprehensive AMPs, are one way to give children and their families the tools they need to effectively address asthma through medical and environmental management techniques. To help ensure incorporation of environmental controls into home visit programs, EPA has developed an Asthma Home Environment Checklist. This checklist contains questions and action steps to assist in the identification and mitigation of environmental asthma triggers commonly found in and around the home. The Agency has taken care to recommend mitigation activities that are generally simple and low cost.  Download the Checklist here (an 81KB Adobe Acrobat PDF file -  home_environment_checklist.pdf) [EPA 402-F-03-030 February 2004]

Working Together:  So Everyone Can Breathe Better

Partner with us to improve asthma management

[EPA 402-F-03-004 April 2003]

Asthma Newsletter

This newsletter highlights outreach and education efforts related to EPA's Asthma Initiative. You will read about partnerships, World Asthma Day 2002 activities, a successful media campaign, and much more [a 83KB Adobe Acrobat PDF file - asthma_bulletin_03_04_03.pdf] [EPA 402-F-02-036 December 2002].

Clearing the Air of Indoor Asthma Triggers

This one page pdf file (program_overview.pdf) provides a quick overview to EPA's Indoor Environments Division's Asthma Management Program [EPA 402-F-02-028]

Free Online Continuing Medical Education Program -- The Environmental Management of Asthma

Physicians and allied health professionals may now take advantage of a free online course on environmental management of asthma by visiting:  www.aaaai.org exiting EPA  Sponsored by the American Association of Health Plans/Health Insurance Association of America (AAHP/HIAA) and the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI), the program is designed to equip the medical community and health plans with resources to incorporate environmental management into asthma disease management programs and clinical practices, and to create standards of care for asthma patients.

For more information, please visit AAAAI's Professionals Center www.aaaai.org exiting EPA. This course was developed under Cooperative Agreement No. X-83035201 awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The views expressed in this training module do not necessarily represent EPA policy.

Clear Your Home Of Asthma Triggers: Your Children Will Breathe Easier

clear your home of asthma triggersAlso available in PDF - asthma.trifold.pdf - 244 KB file.  [EPA 402-F-99-005, July 1999]

Also available in Chinese [EPA 402-F-99-005A, September 1999]; Korean [EPA 402-F-99-005C, September 1999]; and, Vietnamese [EPA 402-F-99-005B, September 1999]

 

Mantenga su hogar libre de los factores que pueden provocar el asma  ¡Sus niños respirarán mejor!

clear your home of asthma triggers(asthma.trifold.spanish.pdf - 280 KB PDF file) [EPA 402-F-99-005D, July 1999]

 

 

 

IAQ Tools for Schools - Managing Asthma in the School Environment IAQ Tools for Schools - Managing Asthma in the School Environment

Asthma has reached epidemic proportions in the United States affecting about 15 million people of all ages and races, particularly children. Nearly one in 13 school-aged children has asthma, and the percentage of children with asthma is rising more rapidly in preschool-aged children than in any other age group. Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism due to a chronic illness, accounting for over 10 million missed school days per year. Asthma also accounts for many nights of interrupted sleep, limitation of activity, and disruption of family and care-giver routines. Asthma symptoms which are not severe enough to require a visit to an emergency room or to a physician can still be serious enough to prevent a child with asthma from living a fully active life.  This document is available in HTML www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/asthma  and as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file [10ways_asthma.pdf].  [EPA 402-K-00-003, May 2000]

Case Study: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

[Posted May 5, 2003]  As part of EPA's asthma program, we support performance-based pilot studies that create and implement in-home asthma intervention programs through the Community-Based In-Home Asthma Environmental Educational and Management Grants. EPA plans to highlight program successes through a series of case studies. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia case study--the first in a series---is intended to offer providers, health insurers, public health departments, and community-based organizations an overview of an asthma in-home intervention. Available in a PDF file, the case study can be downloaded here [casestudy_philadelphia.pdf].

Los Trucos del FantASMA del Asma

los trucos del fant asthmaThe National Council of La Raza's (NCLR) Institute for Hispanic Health (IHH) is proud to announce its new children�s storybook, Los Trucos del FantASMA del Asma. Developed in Spanish, this educational family story chronicles with amazing illustrations and a catchy storyline the antics of the devious FantASMA del asma (asthma phantom) and the adverse respiratory effects it has on a young asthmatic boy named Vin. The FantASMA literally symbolizes the asthma triggers that can be found in the home to which the Torres family has recently moved. While Vin�s parents are unpacking, the FantASMA convinces Vin to play hide-and-seek with him. The phantom magically proceeds to transform himself into several different asthma triggers, causing the boy to become sick. By the story�s end, Vin and his parents have made changes in the maintenance of their home and are finally able to expel the FantASMA del Asma.  Contact NCLR for information on how to get copies.

For more information on how to view or how to order this storybook, go to www.nldi.org/ exiting epa

 


Asthma Speaker's Kit

asthma speakers kit CD-RomYou can download an Adobe Acrobat version of EPA's slide show presentation about asthma and the top indoor asthma triggers (trnmod.pdf a 1.2 MB file) or you can order the kit from IAQINFO.  This 25-slide presentation, complete with speakers notes, is designed for giving talks to a general public audience, and provides basic information about how to reduce exposures to the top indoor asthma triggers.

Available on CD-Rom from IAQ INFO [EPA 402-C-01-002, January 2001]

 

 

National Academy of Sciences Report - "Clearing the Air: Asthma and Indoor Air Exposures"

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to undertake an assessment of the role of indoor air quality in the growing asthma problem. EPA asked NAS to characterize the state of the science on health impacts and prevention strategies, and to provide recommendations on needed research. In response to this request, the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine has issued a report, Clearing the Air: Asthma and Indoor Air Exposures, on the role of indoor environmental pollutants in the development and exacerbation of asthma. The report affirms the Administrator's asthma initiative to educate the public about the ways they can help control asthma by managing indoor air quality. The report concludes that exposure to indoor pollutants is an important contributor to the asthma problem in this nation. Asthma sufferers should consult with their doctor about reducing their exposure to secondhand smoke, dust mites, pet dander, molds, and cockroaches. For more information, read our brochure Clear Your Home of Asthma Triggers: Your Children Will Breathe Easier (HTML | PDF) (also available in Spanish a 280KB PDF file) or call our Indoor Air Quality (IAQINFO) hotline at 1-800-438-4318. A full copy of the NAS report is available at http://books.nap.edu/catalog/9610.html. exiting EPA

You can also download an Adobe Acrobat version of a MS Powerpoint slideshow highlighting the conclusions of the NAS Report "Clearing  the Air: Asthma and Indoor Air Exposures."  (nas_report_for_web.pdf a 121KB file).

 

Indoor Air Quality Hotlines

Asthma Video

You can view EPA's educational video on reducing your exposure to asthma triggers in the home, entitled, "Health at Home: Controlling Asthma Triggers."  This video was developed by the American Lung Association of Eastern Missouri with funds from the EPA.  The video gives an overview of what current research has shown to be the most effective methods of reducing levels of secondhand smoke and allergens from dust mites, cockroaches, molds, and pets in your home. Studies have shown that many asthmatics are sensitive to these substances and health improvements may result from their effective control in the home.  Click here to go to www.AsthmaMoms.com exiting EPA Click on VIDEO on the top menu bar to go to the EPA video.

For more information available on Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS), also known as secondhand smoke (SHS) (epa.gov/smokefree/)

For more information about improving indoor air quality in schools (epa.gov/iaq/schools)  Including the EPA publication "Managing Asthma in the School Environment"

EPA has most of it's Indoor Air Quality-specific publications available.  See (epa.gov/iaq/pubs/) for an indexed list of HTML (and, in some cases, PDF)  versions of our IAQ-related publications.

Other Resources

EPA's America's Children and the Environment website

A valuable resource for children's environmental health is available online at www.epa.gov/envirohealth/children.  The America's Children and the Environment website presents data and discussion on information for environmental contaminants and children's health and is based on the report America's Children and the Environment: Measures of Contaminants, Body Burdens and Illnesses.

Children's Environmental Health Legislation Database

Six states have or are considering legislation to promote awareness of asthma, while 17 states are looking at reducing the risk of mercury contamination says an online database from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).  From lead hazards to pesticides, NCSL has created a searchable online database of children's environmental health legislation. The database provides users with free access to legislation from every state that addresses children's environmental health. Users can search for bills about indoor air quality, mercury, lead hazards, pesticides, asthma and others that cover environmental concerns that affect children's health. The resulting information provides the user with bill numbers and title, brief summaries, bill status, author and introduction date.  The database is a cooperative effort between NCSL and EPA's Office of Children's Health Protection. It can be accessed at www.ncsl.org/programs/ESNR/cehdb.htm exiting EPA

Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Coordination of Federal Asthma Activities - The Children's Health Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-310) requires the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), through the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) Coordinating Committee (CC), to identify all federal programs that carry out asthma-related activities, develop a federal plan for responding to asthma, and submit recommendations to the Congress on ways to strengthen and improve coordination of asthma-related activities of the federal government. The following report has been prepared by the Federal Liaison Group on Asthma (FLGA), a subcommittee of the NAEPP-CC, with coordination by the NHLBI. The report was submitted to the members of the full NAEPP-CC, and comments received from them have been incorporated.  The Executive Summary can be viewed at:  www.nhlbi.nih.gov/resources/docs/asth01rpt.htm exiting EPA where you can download PDF files of the report.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/airpollution/asthma/ exiting EPA

How to Order EPA Publications

These indoor air quality publications are also available through the IAQ INFO Clearinghouse.

IAQ INFO
P.O. Box 37133, Washington, DC 20013-7133
1-800-438-4318/703-356-4020
(fax) 703-356-5386
iaqinfo@aol.com

or, you can order these publications directly via EPA's National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) (http://www.epa.gov/ncepihom/). web site. Your publication requests can also be mailed, called or faxed directly to:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
National Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP)
P.O. Box 42419
Cincinnati, OH 42419
1-800-490-9198/(513) 489-8695 (fax)

Please use the EPA Document Number, which is usually bolded or highlighted, when ordering from NSCEP or from IAQ INFO.

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