Ensuring a scientific basis for community interventions for asthma

Community based interventions are an important part of public health management of many diseases, including asthma. However, there are few scientifically proven and readily available community interventions for asthma. In an effort to increase the number of available interventions, we have identified ongoing asthma intervention research, identified potentially effective asthma interventions based on completed research, and prepared several of the effective interventions for widespread implementation through a process called "translation." We provide an example of one of these effective interventions now available for widespread implementation, "Creating a medical home for asthma." This intervention grew out of need for an intervention in New York City Department of Health (NYCDOH) clinics. The intervention includes training all clinic staff in a comprehensive, preventive approach to asthma care. All of the materials needed to implement the intervention are available to all through the NYCDOH web site (www.nyc.gov/ html/doh/html/cmha/index.html). This example points to the importance of making the tools needed to implement effective interventions available across the country and the role of public/private partnerships to assure the availability of science-based interventions for asthma control.