Overview of the Asthma Initiative
Approximately 9% of children in the U.S. have asthma. When asthma is poorly controlled, it can affect all aspects of children’s functioning. The burden of asthma for children residing in urban areas, such as Greater Providence, is concerning: 25-50% of children in some urban school districts have asthma. Thus, it is important to map high risk areas and chart the factors that lead to an increased risk of asthma outcomes. There exist several multi-level factors (biological, sociocultural, environmental, familial/cultural) that contribute to disparities in pediatric asthma outcomes and thus identifying these can inform better asthma programs and reduce the prevalence and risk of asthma outcomes. The overarching goals of the Asthma Initiative are to improve the health of children with asthma, make the communities we serve among the world’s healthiest places for children with asthma, address the issue of poverty and how it affects asthma risk and finally, serve as a national and international model of what can be achieved in pediatric asthma outcomes.