One-liner: A set of policy recommendations to promote the development and maintenance of communities in which children with asthma can be swiftly diagnosed, effectively treated, and protected from exposure to harmful environmental factors. An estimated 5 million U.S. children have asthma. Too many of these children are unnecessarily impaired. Much of the money spent on asthma is for high-cost health care services to treat acute periods of illness. Many asthma attacks could be avoided--and much suffering prevented and many medical costs saved--if more children received good-quality, ongoing asthma care and if the 11 policy recommendations presented in this report were implemented in a oordinated fashion. A national call to action, the policy recommendations span public and private interests and compel integration of public health activities across local, state, and federal levels. This report summarizes the findings of an effort funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of the Pediatric Asthma Initiative, whose purpose is to address current gaps in national childhood asthma care. It is the first national initiative that simultaneously addresses treatment, policy, and financing issues for children with asthma at the patient, provider, and institutional levels. The purpose of RAND's effort was to:--identify a range of policy actions in both the public and private sectors that could improve childhood asthma outcomes nationwide--select a subset of policies to create a blueprint for national policy in this area--outline alternatives to implement these policies that build on prior efforts.The effort developed a comprehensive policy framework that maps the identified strategies to one overall policy objective: to promote the development and maintenance of asthma-friendly communities--communities in which children with asthma are swiftly diagnosed, receive appropriate and ongoing treatment, and are not exposed to environmental factors that exacerbate their condition. This report is intended as a working guide for coordinating the activities of both public and private organizations at the federal, state, and local community levels.

This report describes the group process used to arrive at the policy recommendations proposed in Improving Childhood Asthma Outc

This report describes the group process used to arrive at the policy recommendations proposed in Improving Childhood Asthma Outc.

Asthma is a complex disease. Although not enough is known about its cause, we do know that risk factors include genetic predisposition, environmental exposures (including tobacco smoke, furry pets, dust mites, and cockroaches), poverty and inadequate health care services. Therefore, an effective strategy for reducing the disease must address multiple fronts. This is particularly important for low-income and minority children, who suffer a greater burden from asthma. They are less likely to have the resources to deal with the disease, and certain racial and/or ethnic groups may also have a greater genetic predisposition.

This reference collects the latest studies on the development, diagnosis, and treatment of childhood asthma and offers current perspectives on new technologies that will shape the management of pediatric asthma in the forthcoming decade-illustrating how advances in pulmonary function measurement, inflammatory markers, imaging, and pharmacogenetics

Starting with the Foreword by Daniel Siegel, MD, the Handbook demonstrates in superb detail how you can combine EMDR’s information processing approach with family systems perspectives and therapy techniques. An impressive and needed piece of work, Handbook of EMDR and Family Therapy Processes provides a clear and comprehensive bridge between individual and family therapies.

The 1980s opened a discussion of the varying nature of health in different segments of the United States. Falling under the rubric of "health disparities," a great deal of research has been published demonstrating the substantial differences in health status within a population. The causes of health disparities are varied and not always clear but most researchers agree that disparities are a reflection of social and economic inequities and political injustice. One of the obstacles to addressing disparities is the lack of meaningful health data especially for vulnerable populations, which is often nonexistent despite being a critical factor for informing health programs and policies at the local level. This book provides a model for combating health disparities by describing how the authors gathered local health information, engaged the community at every step of the process, and created movement toward evidence-based sustainable change.This book describes how a landmark health survey in Chicago generated dramatic data that are allowing investigators throughout the city to move from data to action and from observation to intervention. In providing a detailed description of how the community-focused collection and analysis of health data can serve as an impetus for improved well-being, Urban Health is an invaluable resource for researchers, community groups, students and professionals.