Kentucky Asthma Management Program

Kentucky has the highest rate of lung disease in the U.S., including childhood asthma, with the highest rates in Eastern Kentucky. This problem is complicated by the highest smoking rates in the country, high poverty rates, poorly educated citizens, physician shortages, high obesity rates, and pre-conceived biases of local residents. This significantly impacts the lives of children in the area, resulting in an increased morbidity and mortality, missed school for children, and missed work for parents. This helps perpetuate the cycle of ignorance and poverty that complicates healthcare in Eastern Kentucky. This project will develop a community-based asthma program to provide a medical home for asthma management for this population. This entails identification of high risk children via an educational program that is aimed toward parents. The program will occur in 4 strategic areas of Eastern Kentucky where poverty is the highest and children primarily receive care subsidized by Medicaid or KCHIP or are underinsured.