Examples of “Teachable Moments” include the following: 1. Activity leader recognizes shortness of breath and cough during a physical activity session, such as basketball. This may lead to a short discussion of asthma as a cause of these symptoms, emphasizing that asthma can present with symptoms other than wheezing. The discussion could include ways to […]
From the asthma summer camp, described below, the Neighborhood Asthma Coalition has produced “In Our Own Words,” comprised of campers’ statements regarding their feelings about asthma and the new perspectives gained through camp. “In Our Own Words” now serves as a general resource for the Neighborhood Asthma Coalition. It provides a good stimulus to discussion […]
The Neighborhood Asthma Coalition entails a range of educational and promotional activities for asthma management. These include fairly conventional curricula on asthma self management, as well as less conventional approaches to implementing such curricula. As noted above, the coalition also includes broad community education and promotion of asthma awareness and management. Here we describe the […]
Subcommittees of the all-site council have addressed a number of issues, including: social action activities for implementation by the four neighborhood Wellness Councils; design of educational literature for the Neighborhood Asthma Coalition and other Wellness Initiatives; and planning of Neighborhood Asthma Coalition program activities. These subcommittees all include representation from each of the four neighborhoods […]
The Neighborhood Asthma Coalition has been developed as part of a broader Wellness Initiative in the target neighborhoods. This is organized around Wellness Councils in each neighborhood. Earlier funding of “Neighbors for a Smoke Free North Side” supported initial development of the Wellness Initiative. While administering the Neighborhood Asthma Coalition, the Wellness Initiative also coordinates […]
The target neighborhoods served by the Neighborhood Asthma Coalition are four, predominantly African American neighborhoods in the St. Louis area served by Grace Hill Neighborhood Services. Grace Hill is an affiliation of eight settlement houses, a housing corporation, and several health centers. Its programs have a long tradition of emphasizing selfhelp, operationalized through training neighbors […]
The likelihood of an individual being persuasively exposed to the program’s message through his or her own informal networks should increase accordingly. Supporting this strategy are a number of studies linking participation in formally organized groups to neighboring behaviors. Consequently, working with formal organizations among neighborhood citizens to recruit informal networks is a central theme […]