Funded Projects

Asthma Support in Structurally Disadvantaged Neighborhoods

Project Year

2024

City & State

Cincinnati, Ohio

Program Name

CATCH Resident

Topic

Asthma

Program Description

The problem / Number of children affected  In Cincinnati, approximately 190,000 children live in Hamilton County. Of those children, approximately 30,000 have asthma.1 Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the national asthma hospitalization rate for children is 88 hospitalizations per 100,000 children per year(CDC).2 Unfortunately, in Hamilton County, the child asthma hospitalization rate is estimated to be 263 per 100,000; 599 for Black youth and 117 for non-Black youth.1 While Greater Cincinnati is the home of a nationally ranked children’s hospital, our city and region continue to be characterized by asthma morbidity and inequities far greater than the national average. Evidence suggests that the magnitude of the asthma problem in our city is driven in large part by social and structural determinants of health.  Primary setting Hamilton County, Ohio is a primarily urban and suburban setting; it is home to 800,000 people and 190,000 children.1,3 Certain neighborhoods within the City of Cincinnati, located within Hamilton County, shoulder the largest burden of disease and have a much higher rate of hospitalization than others. For example, the Elmwood, West End, and Bond Hill neighborhoods each have asthma hospitalization rates between 750-1000 per 100,000.1 Many others have hospitalization rates in excess of 500 per 100,000, more than 5-times the national average. This project will primarily focus on reducing asthma hospitalization in these Cincinnati neighborhoods.   Project goal  We seek to enhance social need identification and response in order to rebuild trust in the medical community and address root causes of asthma morbidity in Cincinnati’s most structurally disadvantaged neighborhoods. This goal would also support the Global Aim of Greater Cincinnati’s Asthma Learning Health System (ALHS) to reduce the youth asthma hospitalization to 10% below the national average by 2025 from 263 to 80 per year. By specifically concentrating resources in structurally disadvantaged neighborhoods, we hope to equitably address pediatric asthma morbidity.   Proposed intervention We aim to enhance social need response and build relationships and trust with individuals who reside in Cincinnati’s most structurally disadvantaged neighborhoods through Quarterly Educational Programming. We will hold programming at neighborhood community centers or schools on a weekday or weekend evening for two to three hours. Programming will include an educational speaker and will be paired with a resource fair. Community member speakers, such as a child in the community with asthma, would be invited to speak to those in attendance. We will provide educational materials such as information about common household triggers for asthma and generalized asthma action plans to those who attend. We anticipate roughly 50 people will attend. In a recent systematic review of health literacy interventions, community interventions with similar features, including one-time events of similar duration, group format, as well as trained community members and health care professionals as educators, have demonstrated effectiveness for health outcomes.4 Additionally, our approach follows expert recommendations of building and maintaining trust in a community-based partnerships.5  Anticipated outcomes Following programming, we anticipate those who attend will feel a greater alliance with the medical community in Cincinnati and have a better understanding of asthma, triggers, and resources available in the community. 

Project Goal

Enhance social need response and build trust as a medical community in structurally disadvantaged neighborhoods in Cincinnati through hosting five community events. This goal would be to support the Asthma Learning Health System’s Global Aim of reducing the youth asthma hospitalization rate to 10% below the national average by from 263 to 80 per 100,000 year. 

Project Objective 1

Increase the number of community events in disadvantaged Cincinnati neighborhoods focused on asthma education and resource sharing to support children with asthma and their families from 0 to 4 in 12 months. 

Project Objective 2

Increase the asthma-related medical knowledge and awareness of resources among caregivers who attend community events measured by post event surveys in 12 months. 

Project Objective 3

Increase trust and engagement with “asthma medical home” among children with asthma and caregivers from Cincinnati’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods in 12 months. 

AAP District

District V

Institutional Name

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Contact 1

Elaine Bognar, MD