Wednesday, April 2, 2025
4/2/2025
Advancing Health Equity in Asthma Control through EXHALE Stategies - Asthma is a chronic health condition affecting the lives of over half a million Indiana residents: 1 in 10 Hoosier adults and 1 in 16 Hoosier children are currently diagnosed with asthma. Similar to what is seen at the national level, disparities are seen among those living with asthma in the state: the burden of asthma falls disproportionately on Black, Hispanic, Multiracial, and Native people when considering asthma prevalence, mortality, and health care utilization. Disparities are also seen when looking at gender, income, and educational attainment. The Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) addresses the burden of asthma on our state with the Indiana Asthma Program (Program) through the Chronic Respiratory Disease Section (CRDS) of the Chronic Disease, Primary Care, and Rural Health Division, and the Indoor Air Section of the Environmental Public Health Division (EPHD). The vision of the IDOH is to place equity at the center of our work to ensure that all residents, regardless of individual characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion, has access to the social and physical supports required to promote health from birth through end of life. As such, the Program embraces partnerships and activities that increase the reach, quality, effectiveness, and sustainability of asthma control services by focusing on environmental justice and social determinants of health in the planning, implementation, evaluation, and expansion of EXHALE strategies among populations with a high prevalence of asthma. The Program has a long-standing history of effective partnerships; each funded partner has a contracted scope of work that complements and supports the Program’s overall work plan and the Indiana Asthma State Plan. Furthermore, the Program has close working relationships with many divisions within the IDOH, and with other state agencies. The Program is intentionally structured with staff from two IDOH divisions, the Division of Chronic Disease, Primary Care and Rural Health, and the Environmental Public Health Division, to model the comprehensive structure of the NACP and EXHALE Technical Package. By working together and sharing strategies, the capacity to intervene is maximized and population-level health is improved over time. The Program will continue to implement projects with strategically selected partners to establish and expand asthma services scientifically proven to contribute to improving the health of Indiana residents with asthma; this will be accomplished through the identification and management of common environmental triggers where people live, work, play and pray; supporting asthma self-management education efforts and program establishment in local communities; and development of a network of resources to address the social drivers of health and the comprehensive needs of individuals with asthma. Resources and services will be culturally relevant and address those populations who have been historically underserved.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).