National
Center for Farmworker Health
Monthly
Topics
Asthma
Asthma is a chronic disease that affects your airways. The
airways are the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs.
If you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways are swollen.
The inflammation makes the airways very sensitive, and they
tend to react strongly to things that you are allergic to
or find irritating. When the airways react, they get narrower,
and less air flows through to your lung tissue. This causes
symptoms like wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and trouble
breathing, especially at night and in the early morning. Asthma
cannot be cured, but most people with asthma can control it
so that they have few and infrequent symptoms and can live
active lives. Farmworkers often work and live in areas with
poor air quality which can increase the rate of asthma attacks.
The following is a list of research articles, education resources,
and organizations that focus on asthma.
Asthma Organizations
- Gotitas de Aire / Droplets of Air
Promotores project implemented by the Western Arizona Area
Health Education Center that trains community outreach workers
(promotores) to educate community residents on health risk
factors related to asthma. The project will conduct training
for health professionals on environmental health risk assessment
and effects on asthma on both sides of the border. It will
also promote the American Lung Association’s “Open
Airways” Program, as well as community awareness training
for school staff, childcare providers, and parent groups
in Yuma, Arizona, and San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora.
Contact Information
Mariajose Almazan
(928) 627-9222
mrincon@rcfbh.com
- Breathe Easy (formerly Little Lungs)
In 2001, the Northeast Valley Health Corporation (NEVHC)
partnered with the American Lung Association of Los Angeles
County (ALALAC) to implement a community asthma intervention
project entitled "Little Lungs: A Coordinated Approach
to Asthma Management." The project targets children
with asthma aged 0-5 years and their families in the San
Fernando Valley. The overall goal of the program was to
improve the management of asthma and the quality of life
for children 0-5 years with asthma and their families, by
implementing a coordinated approach to asthma-related services.
Contact Information
Northeast Valley Health Corporation
San Fernando Valley, CA
Marirose Medina, RN, BSN
(818) 898-1388 ext. 120
marirosemedina@nevhc.org
- Community Medical Centers' Asthma Education and
Management Program (AEMP)
The Community Medical Centers’ Asthma Education
and Management Program (AEMP) provides patient education
and management services to people with asthma in Fresno
County, California.
The stated goals of the AEMP are 1) to improve the health
education of the community at large, 2) to decrease the
morbidity and mortality due to asthma in the San Joaquin
valley to below the national norm, and 3) to utilize a
Multiphase Algorithmic Protocol (MAPc) -based program
to accomplish these ends.
Contact Information
Community Medical Centers (CMC)
Fresno, CA
Kevin D. Hamilton, BS, RRT, RCP
(559) 459-1585
khamilton@communitymedical.org
www.asthmaprogram.org
- Contra Costa Public Health
Contra Costa Public Health division provides public health
programs, literature, and patient education materials
on a variety of topics including asthma. For more information,
contact the Contra Costa Public Health Division at 597
Center Avenue, Suite 200; Martinez, California; 94553
or call 925-313-6712. Send a fax to 925-313-6721.
- St. John’s Well Child Center
This 40-year-old organization of free clinics provides
medical and dental preventive and primary healthcare to
children under the age of 18. With a no-fee policy and
a bilingual staff, St. John’s Well Child Center
serves chronically underserved, uninsured and economically
disadvantaged families. The clinics offer a full range
of primary pediatric services including: complete physical
examinations, hearing, vision, tuberculosis tests, and
immunizations for childhood diseases and pharmaceutical
services. The center provides weekly classes on health-related
issues including asthma, drugs, alcohol, and smoking.
The corporate office is located at 5701 South Hoover Street;
Los Angeles, CA 90037 or you call 323.541.1660 to reach
the administration line. Fax requests to 323.541.1661.
- Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) is
a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1953. AAFA
works to develop and implement public policies to improve
the quality of life for people with asthma and allergies.
The AAFA also prepares independent standards for testing
a wide range of products to determine their suitability
for asthmatics and individuals with associated allergies.
E-mail: Info@aafa.org to request general information about
asthma or allergies or to request a free kit of educational
information. You can also call: 1.800.7.ASTHMA.
- Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics
Founded in 1985, AANMA is a national nonprofit network
of families whose desire is to overcome, not cope with,
allergies and asthma. You can also e-mail the organization
at http://www.aanma.org/. Allergy & Asthma Network
Mothers of Asthmatics, 2751 Prosperity Ave., Suite 150,
Fairfax, VA 22031 or call 800-878-4403. Send faxed requests
to 703-573-7794.
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