If knowledge is power, then respiratory care professionals just got a little stronger. Created with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF),  PediatricAsthma.org—launched this week—boasts a wealth of information resulting from 14 research projects conducted across the United States.

The broad-ranging effort, which was a result of the Pediatric Asthma Initiative, focused on three major areas: Medicaid-managed care, community coalitions, and emergency department-based treatment.

Funded by RWJF, the Pediatric Asthma Initiative seeks to fill the gaps in national childhood asthma care through clinical and nonclinical approaches—with the ultimate goal of improving the management of childhood asthma.

Addressing Medicaid-managed care organizations meant taking a closer look at those professionals on the front lines, treating underprivileged children who often lack any connection to a primary care physician.

Three health care programs implemented practices optimizing care delivery and training for providers; improving self-management skills among patients and caregivers; and reducing unnecessary hospital visits and overall costs.

“Once you have a sizable chunk of the population with asthma that understands how to better manage it, fewer resources are required to maintain good results,” said Joseph Stankaitis, MD, chief medical officer of Monroe Plan for Medical Care (Rochester, NY). “As asthma patients get engaged and educated, and the providers get onboard, it leads to long-term success.”

Success was also found by those working through community-based coalitions. Among a myriad of other initiatives, seven organizations organized outreach by community health workers in neighborhoods with high rates of asthma, offered physician asthma care education (PACE) training for professionals, instituted in-home environmental remediation to reduce asthma triggers, and worked to shape asthma policy at the state level.

“Coalition work is first about tilling the soil—educating and getting the community ready. Next you plant the seeds (the programs) and water and fertilize,” says Elisa Nicholas, MD, director of the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma (Long Beach, Calif). “Then you harvest the fruit: the policy change, the doctors communicating better with their patients, the parents who now can control their children’s asthma.”

The National Capital Asthma Coalition (NCAC), located in the nation’s capital, also reaped great rewards.

“We’re focusing not only on building and sustaining partnerships, but also on individual empowerment for parents and children. NCAC succeeds because it meets and empowers people where they are, both geographically and culturally,” said Lisa Gilmore, executive director of the nonprofit organization.

In the final category—developing comprehensive care programs for those seen solely in emergency departments—four groups focused on tracking each individual’s asthma severity, access to care, number of ED visits, and hospitalizations, among other factors.

“These sites are laboratories developing models that can be replicated throughout the country,” said Gary Rachelefsky, MD, a past president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. “The emergency department provides a unique setting for interventions, and we’re finding that families may be more receptive to information about prevention and care immediately following an acute attack than during a routine visit to their regular physician.”

Detailed information and results from each of the organizations participating in the research project are available free of charge. In some cases, the full report is available as well. The site also includes asthma-specific links to documents and sites and, in fall 2007, will launch a section dedicated to continuing medical information.