Philadelphia Allies Against Asthma

The Philadelphia Allies Against Asthma (PAAA) intervention works to improve the coordination of care for children with asthma by providing system support, patient and family education, provider education, public awareness, and policy development. The coalition includes representatives from children’s hospitals, departments of health and housing, Medicaid providers, and community organizations from high-risk zip codes. PAAA has created a common asthma action plan for Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Programming includes Physician Asthma Care Education (PACE) training, home visit interventions, and educational workshops in the community. The alliance also runs the Asthma Link Line, a free telephone hotline in English or Spanish to connect families to asthma resources.

The goal of the Philadelphia Allies Against Asthma is to improve asthma care for those at greatest risk through education, outreach, and advocacy.

PAAA’s introduction of a standardized asthma action plan has impacted hundreds of thousands of children statewide. The coalition has provided outreach to 14 major neighborhoods and the percentage of families with asthma action plans increased from 36% to 63%. Among families in the program the number of emergency department visits and hospitalizations per year reduced by half. Children were three times less likely to miss school, and the number of workdays missed by the family’s caregiver due to asthma reduced by half. The average number of days with asthma symptoms over a two-week period decreased from four days to two days. Between 2002 and 2004 1,400 families were referred to the Link Line, a service which has documented a reduction in emergency department visits, asthma symptoms, missed school and workdays, smoking, and anxiety about asthma among families in the program.