Grants to assist fight against pediatric asthma
In response to rapidly rising cases of asthma among children, the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) has launched a $3 million national program to improve the management of pediatric asthma.
The program, Improving Asthma Care for Children, is one of six asthma initiatives funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, NJ. It targets children enrolled in Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP).
Cases of pediatric asthma have increased by more than 90% in the last decade, making asthma the most common diagnosis of children entering emergency rooms.
More cases from low-income families
Children from urban, low-income families make up a disproportionate share of these visits because they often lack access to primary care and are more likely to be exposed to asthma triggers, including passive cigarette smoke, dust, cockroach allergens, and outdoor pollutants. While disease management for chronic asthma has been studied extensively, asthma care for children in low-income families remains a challenge, largely due to fragmented care.
The new program will encourage collaboration among managed care organizations, school-based health clinics, and public health agencies to jointly develop coordinated clinical models of pediatric asthma care. The aims of the program include:
• Improving the health and functional status of children with asthma.
• Developing and sustaining partnerships with key community stakeholders.
• Establishing innovative clinical models for asthma care.
Grants are available to support formal alliances between managed care organizations and providers of asthma care, such as school-based health centers, child-care agencies, public health agencies, and federally qualified health centers. Applicants must demonstrate an ability to improve pediatric asthma care within a managed care population of at least 20,000 Medicaid or SCHIP enrollees.
Up to six projects will receive funding to:
• Improve managed care clinical and administrative practices.
• Improve coordination among providers of asthma services.
• Improve patient education and self-management strategies.
• Implement community education campaigns about environmental asthma triggers.
• Provide defined evaluation measures and sustainable results.
Letters of intent will be accepted through Sept. 1, 2000, and full grant proposals will be invited from selected applicants in November 2000. Grant recipients for the three-year projects will be announced in September 2001. For more information, the Call for Proposals can be found on the Center for Health Care Strategies Web site (www.chcs.org) and on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Web site: www.rwjf.org.
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