Bridging the Gap from Acute to Chronic Care: Partnerships and Tools for Pediatric Asthma

Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children and disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities. (1)(2)(14) • Asthma self-management is essential to provide patients with the skills necessary to control asthma and improve outcomes. [Based on strong research evidence (quality level A)] (37) • Asthma self-management should be integrated into all aspects of asthma care in health-care settings, including outpatient offices (quality level A), emergency departments (quality level B), pharmacies (quality level B), and hospitals (quality level B). (16)(17)(18)(19)(21)(24)(37) • Local and regional organizations, such as the American Lung Association, are valuable partners for healthcare providers and pediatric patients with asthma to improve quality of life, facilitate behavior change, and decrease the number of asthma-related acute care visits in high-burden asthma hotspots. (Based on some research evidence as well as consensus) (23)(37) • Written asthma action plans are self-management educational tools that should be provided to all patients and should include instructions for daily asthma management as well as recognition/management of worsening symptoms (quality level B). (24)(37) • Emerging evidence suggests that incorporating computer and Internet programs into asthma care has a positive impact (quality level B). Computer and Internet programs are used in the Asthma Coalition of Long Island’s online self-management resources (37).