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.


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