During its first phase (2005-2009), MCAN supported competitive, peer-reviewed, childhood asthma translational research specifically focused on the adoption of evidence-based models of asthma management.

MCAN awarded its first grants in December 2005 to four-year childhood asthma programs in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Juan, Puerto Rico. An independent research group evaluated these programs; evaluation findings have provided insight into the effectiveness and processes of implementing evidence-based programs in different 'real world' settings. MCAN anticipates these findings to be published in late 2011.

MCAN Care Coordination Program Sites (2010-2014)

Through the Care Coordination grant portfolio, MCAN is seeking to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing and sustaining care-coordination models that were developed during the first phase of MCAN in communities with significant childhood asthma morbidity and/or disparities in outcomes.

These are the current program sites:

1. Los Angeles Unified School District, "Yes We Can Children's Asthma Program"

The program uses a care-coordination and education model that extends beyond the immediate school clinic to include system changes between health, educational and community settings. The program triages students and families into the appropriate level of intervention, improves the coordination of care among schools, clinics and community providers, and focuses on measuring symptom reduction and school days missed.

2. Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago, "Addressing Asthma in Englewood"

The program centers on a community educator model, linking children with asthma to appropriate services, education programs in schools, community groups and local agencies. A home-visit case-management program is also provided to enhance asthma education, identification and mitigation of asthma triggers.

3. RAND Corporation, "La Red de Asma Infantil de Merck de Puerto Rico"

The program involves evidence-based interventions as part of an asthma care coordination program across home, healthcare and community settings. Implemented in the Nemesio Canales Housing Project in San Juan, Puerto Rico, "La Red" promotes asthma-friendly communities throughout the island of Puerto Rico and improves access to quality asthma healthcare for this highly vulnerable and underserved community.

4. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, "Asthma Health Care Navigator Program"

Asthma healthcare navigators located within four primary care centers, operated by the hospital, work with primary care providers as an integral member of the family's asthma care team. They assist families in the identification and reduction of asthma triggers in the home and provide self-management education and other support and resources for families of high-risk children with asthma.

Care Coordination program sites are participating in a cross-site evaluation to assess outcome and process measures focused on care coordination and clinical outcomes.

Community Healthcare for Asthma Management and the Prevention of Symptoms (CHAMPS)

MCAN has partnered with George Washington University (GWU) School of Public Health and Health Services, the RCHN Community Health Foundation, the National Association of Community Health Centers and Rho, Inc. to implement a tailored, evidence-based asthma management intervention and to evaluate its effectiveness for children who receive their care in community health centers.

Researchers from GWU and Rho will assess the feasibility and success of disseminating and implementing an evidence-based intervention in community health centers, the "front door" to care for many low-income children with asthma. Our intent is to facilitate best practices and develop pragmatic, action-oriented recommendations for policymakers and health center program administrators. Investigators will evaluate the effectiveness and the cost of implementing a tailored asthma-care management and home-trigger reduction, evidence-based intervention for children receiving their care in community health centers. In addition to improving the clinical asthma outcomes for children, we anticipate that findings and lessons learned will inform the dissemination of science-based interventions in other healthcare centers and systems.

Head-Off Environmental Asthma in Louisiana (HEAL)

MCAN supported the Head-off Environmental Asthma in Louisiana (HEAL) Project during 2006-2010, a collaborative research project conducted by the Tulane University Health Sciences Center and the New Orleans Department of Health, along with Rho Inc., as the data coordinating center. The purpose of the project was to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel case management/environmental intervention that was based on earlier evidence-based studies and to learn about the effects of mold and other indoor allergens on children with moderate to severe asthma in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. The HEAL Project was funded through a partnership, managed by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, between MCAN, the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.

An extension of the HEAL Project, HEAL Phase II is a collaborative effort between Xavier University's Center for Minority Health & Health Disparities Research and Education and the Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans. This partnership, with support from MCAN through 2014, will focus on sustaining the successful model from HEAL Phase I in a clinic setting and building on the lessons learned during the past five years.

Comprehensive Asthma Project (CAP)

The Comprehensive Asthma Project (CAP) is a current initiative between MCAN and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The purpose of CAP is to improve the quality of asthma care for children by pediatricians throughout the U.S. As such, CAP provides support to AAP chapters and member practices to disseminate and facilitate implementation of the asthma guidelines established by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and to reduce disparities in asthma outcomes in practices that serve impoverished and medically underserved patients/caregivers. The CAP program has two distinct phases:

1.) Chapter Quality Network
2.) The Medical Home Chapter Champions Project on Asthma