According to the 2003 California Health Interview Survey, 9.6 percent of children aged 0 to 5 years have been diagnosed with asthma. Children in this age group experience the highest rates of hospitalizations and emergency department visits for asthma. While much of this and other asthma-related morbidity is preventable, many of these children do not benefit from appropriate asthma education, management, and prevention practices.

In 2000, the Department of Health Services received funding from First 5 California to establish a statewide asthma project (funded through June 30, 2005). The goals of the Childhood Asthma Initiative (CAI) are to decrease asthma morbidity and to improve the quality of life for children aged 0 to 5 years with asthma and their families. These goals have been accomplished by improving the delivery, quality, and coordination of preventive, educational, and medical care services directed toward childhood asthma.

CAI supported community asthma intervention projects, asthma treatment services for uninsured and underinsured children, provider education about quality asthma care, and an assessment of childcare facilities concerning practices and policies that impact children with asthma. DHS partners in the CAI included the Chronic Disease Control, Environmental Health Investigation, and Children's Medical Services Branches.

Asthma Program Manual   The CAI program has released the "Asthma Program Manual: A Comprehensive Guide to Planning a Program for Prevention and Treatment of Asthma in Children Under Five" as a resource for policy makers, health care foundations, and communities interested in disseminating the CAI model.

Community Asthma Intervention
Eight California communities received funding for community asthma intervention projects that supported community asthma coalitions, clinical asthma quality improvement activities, and the use of trained asthma coordinators to provide patient/family education, self-management training, and home asthma trigger assessment.

Community Asthma Intervention local project partners include:  Alameda County Public Health Department, Children's Hospital Oakland, American Lung Association of the Central Coast, American Lung Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties, Children's Hospital and Health Center--San Diego, Council of Community Clinics, Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America, Southern California Chapter, San Francisco Department of Public Health, American Lung Association of San Francisco and San Mateo Counties, American Lung Association of Los Angeles County, Northeast Valley Health Corporation, Asthma Education & Resource Council of Marin, and Darin M. Camarena Health Centers, Inc.

Two additional locally funded CAI projects are coordinated by Riverside County and by Community Medical Centers - Fresno

State funded local support has concluded, however many CAI community projects remain active and Community Asthma Intervention program summaries, resources, and materials will remain accessible on this site.

Return to the California Asthma Public Health Initiative