Regional Asthma Management and Prevention Program

From 2007-2012, RAMP was designated a Center of Excellence in the Elimination of Disparities under a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s REACH-US Program (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health). The project focused on a comprehensive approach to reduce asthma disparities among African-Americans and Latinos in the San Francisco Bay Area.

RAMP partnered with other Pubic Health Institute leaders to develop a framework aimed at encouraging public health professionals to incorporate climate change into their existing work. RAMP also supported local projects demonstrating ways to connect climate change and public health.

Building on past successes in developing tools and providing direct Technical Assistance (TA), Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP), a project of the Public Health Institute (PHI), and the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) will collaborate with the EPA to achieve the outcomes of: 1) Increase the number of State environmental, public health, and Medicaid programs working collaboratively to support in-home asthma interventions; 2) Increase the number of health plans serving Medicaid populations that reimburse in-home interventions; 3) Build state, tribal, and local capacity to deliver and sustain in-home environmental asthma interventions through technical assistance and training. The proposed scope of work is designed to reflect the strong evidence base and proven best practices from the asthma field. Equally important, the scope of work also reflects evolving current issues including the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of telehealth and the increased engagement of Community Health Workers across the health care sector.

Portable air purifiers marketed to protect against wildfire smoke vary widely in cost, performance and safety. Some are safe and effective; others have little effect; still others emit toxic ozone into indoor air. While there are regulations to keep ozone-generating machines from being sold in California, and there are some existing consumer resources, our needs survey has identified major gaps. PHI proposes to: (1) Prepare and disseminate educational materials to guide organizations serving low-income consumers and non-English speakers toward effective and affordable portable air purifiers, and (2) Support regulatory agencies in identifying and taking action against companies selling hazardous ozone-generating air purifiers in California. This project is co-led by PHI's Anne Kelsey Lamb and Dr. Gina Solomon.

RAMP is partnering with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and seven asthma home visiting programs in the Bay Area to distribute air cleaners (also known as air purifiers) to low-income residents with poorly controlled asthma. The asthma home visiting programs provide the air cleaners to their clients along with education on how to use and maintain the air cleaner as part of a comprehensive approach to asthma management. RAMP is serving as a liaison for distribution and data collection, developing educational materials, and writing a case study to document best practices and lessons learned.