Case Study: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia 2020 HAP Achievement Award

Community Asthma Prevention Program Plus Home Repairs

CHOP’s Community Asthma Prevention Program provides in-home asthma education to families through a peer-to-peer education model using Community Health Workers. These workers teach families about asthma physiology, indoor asthma triggers, and environmental remediation strategies.

Noting that poor housing conditions can exacerbate asthma symptoms, the hospital grew its asthma prevention program to include structural home repairs, collaborating with local minority and women-owned businesses whenever possible to complete the work. The overall goal is to eliminate the common asthma triggers—such as pest infestation, old carpets, and mold-causing leaks—that send patients to the hospital.

The hospital noted several key benefits from its expanded asthma prevention program:

• Fostering collaboration between multiple partners allows providers to step outside the walls of their hospitals and into their communities
• Addressing social determinants of health, such as housing conditions, supports the hospital’s overall goal to provide community benefit and improve population health
• The hospital created new local partnerships, while offering training and resources to local contractors interested in scaling up their business

To date, the hospital has completed repairs in 60 homes and has dozens more in the pipeline. The program experts anticipate their efforts could result in a 30 to 50 percent reduction in inpatient hospitalizations and emergency room visits for asthma. Improved pediatric asthma control comes with additional benefits to reduce parent stress, support quality of life for families, and improve health behaviors.

Learn more about HAP's Achievement Awards program.

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Topics: Quality Initiatives

Revision Date: 8/1/2020

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