Breath of Fresh Air

In Stamford, 8.5 percent of children have asthma; this prevalence exceeds the county by 35 percent. Stamford children are hospitalized for asthma 2.4 times more often than children in neighboring communities. Pediatric asthma in Stamford is concentrated in certain geographic "hotspots" and disproportionately affects African-American children. In response, Stamford Health Department established an in-home pediatric asthma environmental education initiative. Asthmatic children are identified from a school health database and voluntary home visits are scheduled for families in targeted geographic hotspots. Home visits are conducted by a nurse educator and a housing code inspector. At each visit, they complete a standardized quantitative assessment and perform an educational and environmental intervention is performed. Follow-up visits occur at 3, 6, and 12 months.

The goal of this program is to address two important aspects of pediatric asthma control - access to care and education/self-management skills.

Implementing the Breath of Fresh Air Program in Stamford neighborhoods has decreased asthma symptom days, thereby decreasing unscheduled medical care visits, hospitalizations, and school absenteeism.