Developing a comprehensive, community-based asthma education and training program

The Community Asthma Prevention Program (CAPP) is a comprehensive, community-based asthma education and training program focused on the prevention of asthma exacerbations in the pediatric/adolescent population. Details of starting a community-based education program are described. The asthma class series is taught for 5 hours, delivered in 1-hour sessions once each week. Programs are held in schools, daycare centers, churches, and community centers. Classes are conducted simultaneously in separate rooms with parents being taught by a health educator and children taught by a peer educator. To date, 774 parents and 570 children have completed the community classes. The retention rate of participants who complete the 5-week program is 80%. The train-the-trainer model is used for training community members such as parents, teens, school nurses, daycare providers, and foster care workers to provide the community with many members who are trained in asthma education. Strategies used to obtain support and promote program visibility and use in the targeted community are presented.