Wednesday, April 2, 2025
4/2/2025
Advancing Health Equity in Asthma Control through EXHALE Strategies in Massachusetts - The Advancing Health Equity in Asthma Control through EXHALE Strategies in Massachusetts (MA) project will be led by the MA Department of Public Health’s (MDPH) Asthma Prevention and Control Program (APCP). The mission of the APCP is to eliminate inequities in asthma outcomes and reduce the overall burden of asthma across the Commonwealth. Elevating evidence-based best practices to build capacity and foster collaboration for the prevention and management of asthma, with a focus on the root causes of asthma inequities that result from systemic and structural racism. In 2021, close to 1 in 9 people in Massachusetts (11.7% of adults and 9.7% of children) had current asthma, compared to close to 1 in 13 people with current asthma nationally (8.0% of adults and 6.5% of children). Despite comprehensive prevention and mitigation efforts, MA ranks within the top ten states in the U.S. in terms of asthma burden. Significant inequities in asthma outcomes continue to persist within MA, with rates of asthma-associated hospitalization and emergency department visits for Black non-Hispanic and Hispanic residents three to four times higher than those of White non-Hispanic residents. Purpose: Acknowledging these inequities in asthma outcomes are driven by structural racism and social determinants of health, the APCP strives to address these inequities through a framework of leading with race and racism explicitly but not exclusively. By leading with race and racism, we are acknowledging that systems failing our residents of color who are most burdened by asthma are failing all residents, and we can work towards improving the health of MA as a whole. It is through this lens that the APCP, along with our partners, are committed to centering asthma efforts within communities experiencing the highest burden of asthma inequities in MA with an intentional focus on populations at the highest risk of adverse asthma outcomes. The proposed project aims to improve the statewide infrastructure of equitable asthma care delivery and will be implemented through an integrated approach of collaboration with new and existing partners in close collaboration with our statewide asthma coalition and long-time partner, the MA Asthma Action Partnership (MAAP). Utilizing a data-driven and community-informed approach, the APCP will employ initiatives to support asthma friendly schools, the adoption of policies and practices to reduce exposure to environmental asthma triggers across home, school and community settings and to employ communications strategies that provide individuals and families with asthma with the information and support they need through linguistically and culturally appropriate avenues and materials. Outcomes: The project will achieve the short terms outcomes of increased implementation of all EXHALE strategies across the home, community, school and healthcare settings; increased linkages to community resources to address drivers of health inequities; and increased use of surveillance and evaluation data to drive program improvements. The project will achieve the intermediate outcomes of increasing access to EXHALE interventions for individuals with uncontrolled asthma and reducing the impact of identified drivers of health inequities for asthma control among communities and populations of focus. Project activities will contribute to long term outcomes of increased coordination of care across settings, reduced exposure to environmental asthma triggers, increased sustainability of equity-focused partnerships, reduced asthma-related ED visits and hospitalizations, and reduced disparities in asthma related mortality and morbidity. Throughout the project, APCP will continue to build internal and partner capacity to conduct process and outcome evaluations and use surveillance data to inform programmatic approaches, including a focus on program sustainability.
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).