Asthma Awareness Month Event Planning Kit How to Plan an Asthma Education Event at a Local Hospital or Clinic May is Asthma Awareness Month! There is no better time to promote asthma education, including management of environmental triggers. Join EPA to plan an educational event for staff, patients, and the public at a local hospital or clinic. To do this, you will need the support of hospital or clinic management and key staff. Things to do include: Conduct asthma educational trainings and coordinate activities at the local hospital or clinic: ~ Offer asthma education on environmental asthma triggers and management; ~ Incorporate asthma into health fairs; ~ Show the Arthur® video, "Buster's Breathless," and EPA's asthma public service announcement; ~ Educate parents on asthma and the risks of secondhand smoke; ~ Provide guest speakers—such as asthma patients, doctors, nurses, or TV personalities—to describe how to live with asthma. Recruit local sponsors to provide giveaways or support. Potential sponsors include area businesses and organizations—such as the local chapter of the American Lung Association—that may assist in asthma events or trainings. Contact the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America about conducting an "Asthma Management and Education" training for health professionals who educate and care for patients with asthma. Contact the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) to obtain the "Environmental Triggers of Asthma" CD-ROM continuing education course for respiratory therapists. Issue press releases and publicize your event in newsletters, patient information packets, on Web sites, and through local media or schedule a press conference. And remember... T Distribute asthma materials to patients, hospital or clinic staff, and families with prescriptions. The following are a few of the many asthma education resources available to you: ~ "Clear Your Home of Asthma Triggers" brochure; ~ "Take the Smoke-Free Home Pledge" brochure and poster; ~ "Dusty and His Asthma Triggers" children's funbook; ~ "Breathing Freely: Controlling Asthma Triggers" video; ~ "Help Your Child Gain Control Over Asthma" booklet; ~ Asthma public service announcements. Event Spotlight: Asthma Display at Children's Memorial Hospital Where and when did the event take place? Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, on May 1, 2007, from 8am - 6pm. What happened at the event? Hospital staff organized an asthma information display in the lobby of the hospital to help educate the community about living with asthma and to recruit particiapants for an asthma study. The staff handed out asthma information and spoke to patients from the inner-city community served by the hospital. What resources were used for the event? Free materials in English and Spanish provided by EPA and the American Lung Association; posters; and display booklets and inhalers borrowed from the hospital. How did this event help raise asthma awareness? Around 100 asthma patients and their family members visited the display to talk to the staff and gain a better understanding of how to manage asthma. Interested in including bilingual resources at your event? Check out the Materials Order form at the back of this Kit. ------- |