Blog
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Bill to Support Asthma Home Visits Advances in California Senate!
On Wednesday, April 4th, we took an important step forward to increase access to asthma home visiting services in California! The Senate Health Committee, on an 8-0 bipartisan vote, advanced SB 207, our proposal for asthma preventive services for Medi-Cal beneficiaries with poorly controlled asthma. The bill would support asthma education and home environmental trigger…
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Impact of Railyards on Asthma-Related Pediatric Emergency Room Visits
Preventive Medicine Reports included an article in its March 2019 edition investigating the effects of freight railyards on exposure to air pollutants and subsequent asthma-related emergency room visits in children. The study included children living within 30 miles of one of 18 freight railyards in California that had emergency room visits between 2007 and 2009…
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Comparison of Indoor and Outdoor Particulate Matter on Children’s Lung Function
The May 2019 edition of Science of the Total Environment contains an article investigating the effects of exposure to particulate matter that occurs indoors compared to the amount outdoors. Researchers took indoor and outdoor particulate matter and fungal spore data from forty-four homes with asthmatic children. The children also completed spirometry. After analyzing the data,…
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Effects of Vitamin D on Asthma Symptoms in Obese Urban Children
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology included in article in its February 2019 edition examining the effects of Vitamin D on asthma symptoms in obese, urban children. Researchers had a cohort of 120 children aged 5 to 12 that “were evaluated at baseline and every 3 months for 9 months.” At each interval, indoor…
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Study Examines Racial Gap in Production and Exposure to Air Pollution
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America released an article in their March 2019 edition examining consumption as it relates to how much air pollution it produces. The study specifically looked at the consumption of racial-ethnic groups that was producing pollution against the racial-ethnic groups that were faced…
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Effects of Smartphone Applications on Adherence in Asthma Self-Management
An article in the October 2018 edition of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health investigates if the use of smartphone applications can improve adherence in asthma self-management. Researchers conducted a systematic review of articles, with eight meeting the review criteria of the study. All types of study were considered, which prevented meta-analysis…
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Online Module “Environmental Asthma Triggers: A Training for Public Health Professionals” Now Available
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility’s Community Outreach and Engagement Core has released an online module titled “Environmental Asthma Triggers: A Training for Public Health Professionals.” The module “focuses on understanding asthma as a chronic lung disease,” as well as examining environmental exposures that worsen asthma. It…
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2018 USAsthma Summit Video Now Available Online
The Allergy and Asthma Network held the 2018 USAsthma Summit on November 16th, 2018. The recording of the conference is now available online. The conference discussed numerous topics, including severe asthma, inhaler confusion, barriers to care, the role of pharmacists, and advocacy. To view the Summit recording, click here.
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Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s PolicyLab Releases Brief on Reducing Repeat Hospital Visits for Children with AsthmaChildren’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s PolicyLab Releases Brief on Reducing Repeat Hospital Visits for Children with Asthma
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s (CHOP) PolicyLab has released a policy brief with recommendations for health systems and policymakers to help reduce hospital readmissions due to asthma. CHOP partnered with the Community Asthma Prevention Program in an effort to cut emergency department revisit rates for the highest-risk children with asthma. The brief details that intervention,…
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Researchers Examine Effects of Airport-Associated Ultrafine Particles on Lung Function
A September 2018 article in Environment International investigated the health impacts of airport-related ultrafine particle exposure, particularly around the Los Angeles International Airport. Researchers had a cohort of 22 non-smoking adults with mild to moderate asthma undergo mild walking activity on two occasions inside and outside of high ultrafine particle zones. After analyzing the results,…
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Union of Concerned Scientists Releases Fact Sheet on Inequitable Exposure to Air Pollution from Vehicles in California
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has released a fact sheet, Inequitable Exposure to Air Pollution from Vehicles in California, which helps to demonstrate the strong need for programs California has developed to reduce vehicular pollution. The analysis highlights 1) the production of unhealthy air by cars, trucks, and buses, and 2) who bears the…
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Your Support Needed to Expand Access to Asthma Home Visiting Services in California
We need your letter of support to help advance SB 207, and a related budget appropriation, which would increase access to asthma education and home environmental trigger remediation among Medi-Cal beneficiaries with poorly controlled asthma. There is robust evidence showing that asthma education and in-home assessments improve the lives of people with asthma and reduce…