Center for Managing Chronic Disease - Putting People at the Center of Solutions

Asthma Health Outcomes Project (AHOP)

To better understand what makes asthma programs successful, the Asthma Health Outcomes Project (AHOP) at the Center for Managing Chronic Disease was created and funded under a cooperative agreement with the Indoor Environments Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Through this project, a process was developed and implemented to identify asthma programs around the world that include an environmental component and have demonstrated a positive impact on asthma-related health outcomes in order to identify the factors that are associated with success.

Through a wide-reaching outreach campaign, AHOP identified over 500 asthma programs worldwide, of which 223 reported completing an evaluation that demonstrated improvements to at least one asthma-related health outcome.  Through telephone interviews and review of program documents and published literature, data for each program related to program background, planning and design, program administration and implementation, and evaluation design and findings have been gathered. 

Preliminary analyses suggest themes across programs that are more likely to report a positive impact on health outcomes.  These programs are:

  • Community Centered
  • Collaborative
  • Clinically Connected
  • Responsive to Patient Needs

These themes were also evident in the qualitative analyses.  In highlighting the strengths and challenges of their programs, respondents revealed the importance of having close ties with the community, collaboration among organizations and agencies, being connected with clinical care, and shaping programs for individual needs.  Although successful, programs faced significant challenges working with low income populations and implementing rigorous evaluations that fit with their goals and resources. 

Program documents, the Preliminary Field Report, and a final report can be found on the AHOP website.

Project-related Presentations: 

Lachance L., Friedman A., Stoll S., Awad D., Clark N.M. Are Asthma Programs Positioned for Impact? Factors Associated with Success.  Annual Meeting of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), San Francisco, CA, May 2007. 

For more information, contact Dan Awad at awadd@umich.edu

Clark, N.M., Friedman, A., Miklosovic, M., Pinkerton, J., and Doctor, L. Emerging themes in asthma interventions that include an environmental component.  American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., November 2004.   

For more information, contact Shelley Stoll at scstoll@umich.edu