Wisconsin Asthma Coalition

DHFS partners with the Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin to coordinate the Wisconsin Asthma Coalition (WAC), integrate partnership activities, and facilitate the maintenance and implementation of the Wisconsin Asthma Plan. 

Since the WAC's inception in 2001, coalition membership has grown to over 250 members. Membership is open to any individual or organization interested in asthma prevention, education and management for children and adults. Members have many opportunities to participate in the WAC through the Executive Committee, workgroups, WAC meetings and local asthma coalitions.

WAC Vision: 
Individuals with asthma in Wisconsin will attain optimal health and quality of life and asthma will be prevented to the extent possible.

WAC Mission: 
To develop and implement a sustainable statewide action plan to expand and improve the quality of asthma education, management and services in the state so as to prevent asthma-related adverse health outcomes and eliminate the disproportionate burden of asthma in racial/ethnic and low-income populations.

The WAC consists of 9 workgroups:

Unless otherwise directed, the following resources can be found on the resources page of the Children's Health Alliance of Wisconsin website:

Clinical Care

Goal: 
Increase the use of evidence-based, best practice asthma guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma by all health care providers in order to optimize the quality of health acre to individuals with asthma.

Topics/Resources of Interest:

• Asthma Care Fax - Tool for pharmacists to notify healthcare providers when a patient is excessively using short-acting beta agonist.

• Asthma Control Test - Two tests available: one for Ages 4-11 and one for Ages 12 and over to gauge if asthma is in control.

• Clinical Care Asthma Algorithm - Provides one-page pathway for completing an asthma focused follow-up visit with patient. Includes an additional section for the physician.

• Prescription Assistance Programs for Patients with Asthma - Outlines prescription assistance programs to aid in the cost of specific asthma medications.

• Allergist Outreach Asthma Education Program - Allergist-nurse teams are available to provide the program to interested primary care practice clinics. The target audience is prescribing clinicians and nurses.

back to top

Disparities

Goal:
Reduce disparities in asthma diagnosis, treatment and outcomes among racial or ethnic minority and low-income populations.

Topics/Resources of Interest:

• Cultural Competence Tool White Paper - Discusses the creation and purpose of the Cultural Competence Tool created by the WAC Disparities Workgroup.
• Cultural Competency Review Tool - Evaluates asthma educational materials for cultural competency.

back to top

Education

Goal:
To expand and improve the quality of asthma education to be consistent with the National Asthma Education and Prevention (NAEPP) Guidelines and to be culturally and linguistically appropriate.

Topics/Resources of Interest:

• Asthma Articles You Can Use - Variety of articles submitted by local asthma coalitions that could be replicated in your community.
• Wisconsin Asthma Coalition (WAC) Certified Asthma Educators - List of certified asthma educators willing to serve as an informational resource and provide support when taking the national asthma certification exam.
• Allergist Outreach Asthma Education Program - Allergist-nurse teams are available to provide the program to interested primary care practice clinics. The target audience is prescribing clinicians and nurses.

back to top

Enhanced Covered Services

Goal:
Managed care, self-insured, Medicaid and Medicare will fund reasonable, measurable and achievable disease management for persons with asthma.

Topics/Resources of Interest:

• Implementing An Asthma Home Visit Program: 10 Steps to Help Health Plans Get Started - Shares the experiences of seven health care organizations offering asthma home visit programs.

back to top

Environment & Work-related Asthma

Goal:
Reduce or control environmental factors in Wisconsin associated with asthma and reduce the burden of work-related asthma in Wisconsin.

Topics/Resources of Interest:

• Air Quality Index (AQI) - An index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you. People with respiratory diseases, including asthma, that make their lungs more vulnerable to ozone may experience health effects earlier and at lower ozone levels than other people.
• Air Quality Watches and Advisories - Wisconsin DNR notifies Wisconsin residents about unhealthy air quality using a new system called Air Quality Watch / Air Quality Advisory. Look up air quality readings for selected WI counties.
• Outdoor Wood Boilers - Guidance for local government and public health officials on the use and regulation of outdoor wood boilers (OWBs).
• Wisconsin Environmental Public Health Tracking - The program partners with other agencies and organizations for health information data and identifying environmental contaminants.
• Work-related Asthma

back to top

Local Development & Communication

Topics/Resources of Interest:

• A Developmental Manual for Asthma Coalitions - Includes information on building, organizing, growing, running and evaluating effective asthma coalitions.
• Local Asthma Coalitions:
  Chippewa County Asthma Coalition 
  Dane County Asthma Coalition 
  Fight Asthma Milwaukee (FAM) Allies 
  Fond du Lac Asthma Management Coalition 
  Fox Valley Asthma Coalition 
  Green Bay Area Asthma Coalition 
  La Crosse Partners 
  Manitowoc County Asthma Coalition 
  Marathon County Asthma Coalition

back to top

Public Policy

Goal:
Improve asthma care and decrease health disparities through policy change.

Topics/Resources of Interest:

• Asthma Inhaler Law - Public school students have the right to self-carry their rescue inhaler on their person.
• Expansion of Asthma Inhaler Law - Expanded to include private and charter schools.

back to top

Schools

Topics/Resources of Interest:

• Asthma Inhaler Medication Form - Authorization form for students to carry their asthma inhaler at school.

back to top

Surveillance

Goal:
To improve and expand asthma surveillance in Wisconsin.

Topics/Resources of Interest:

• Burden of Asthma in Wisconsin 2007 (PDF, 7.2MB) - This report summarizes a variety of data on asthma including prevalence, associated costs, disease management, emergency department visit and hospitalization rates, and information about the number of deaths due to asthma.

back to top

All external hyperlinks are provided for your information and for the benefit of the general public. The Department of Health and Family Services does not testify to, sponsor, or endorse the accuracy of the information provided on externally linked pages.

PDF: The free Acrobat Reader® software is needed to view and print portable document format (PDF) files. Learn more.

back to Asthma Home Page

Date Last Revised:  February 25, 2008