At a glance
CDC is funding the health departments in California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Houston, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin to improve the reach, quality, effectiveness, and sustainability of asthma control services and to reduce asthma morbidity, mortality and disparities by implementing evidence-based strategies.
Overview
The Rhode Island Asthma Control Program (RIACP) has been part of CDC's National Asthma Control Program since 2000. They work alongside partners to improve the quality of asthma care, improve asthma management in schools, and foster policies to help reduce exposure to asthma triggers in outdoor, indoor, and workplace environments.
- Rhode Island Asthma Control Program Division of Community Health & Equity
- Ashley Robinette
- (401) 222-6272
- Ashley.Robinette@health.ri.gov
- Rhode Island Department of Health
3 Capitol Hill, Room 409
Providence, RI 02908
Highlights
RIACP’s Home Asthma Response Program (HARP) is an evidence-based home visiting program for pediatric asthma patients with poorly controlled asthma. HARP is a multi-trigger, multicomponent intervention with an environmental focus on children with poorly or not well-controlled asthma who live in one of four cities where 25% or more of children live at or below the federal poverty level. In 2021, RIACP updated the eligibility criteria to include having one asthma-related emergency department (ED) visit or one inpatient asthma-related hospitalization within the past year. Children and their families enrolled in HARP are provided up to three intensive in-home visits with a certified asthma educator (AE-C) and community health worker (CHW) from Hasbro Children’s Hospital. The AE-C and CHW provide asthma self-management education and conduct an environmental assessment of the home to identify environmental asthma triggers that could exacerbate the child’s asthma. A 2019 economic case evaluation showed that the HARP program reduced ED and hospital costs by 78%, an average of $2,115 per program participant.
The Rhode Island Breathe Easy at Home (BEAH) project is a web-based referral system utilizing KIDSNET, a confidential, computerized child health information system administered by the Rhode Island Department of Health. The focus population is children ages 2–17 years diagnosed with asthma and living in rental properties in Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket. Through KIDSNET, providers can refer patients with asthma for housing inspections if they suspect substandard housing conditions may be triggering a child’s asthma exacerbations. Home inspections for this program are conducted by the city’s code enforcement office.
What the data shows
2020
103,190 Adults with asthma
18,396 Children with asthma
In 2020, a total of 103,190 Rhode Island adults (12.1% of the adult population) had asthma, and 18,396 Rhode Island children ages 0–17 years (9.5%) had it.
2019
2,565 ER visits
382 Hospitalizations
In 2021, there were 2,565 emergency department visits and 382 inpatient hospitalizations for asthma in Rhode Island.
Resources
EXHALE: Strategies to Help People with Asthma Breathe Easier
Controlling Childhood Asthma and Reducing Emergencies