Annual Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit

For over 20 years, the Community Asthma Prevention Program has focused on fighting disparities in asthma through strong community ties, high performing collaborations and partnerships, integration of health care services, in-home asthma education by community health workers, and tailored environmental interventions to increase the effectiveness of care for children with asthma.

The annual Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit brings together doctors, nurses, regional and local public health officials, social workers, caregivers, community health workers and members of the community to increase awareness, provide education and encourage advocacy around disparities in pediatric asthma treatment.

The Summit is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, with support from the Community Asthma Prevention Program.

2023 Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit

Wednesday, October 18th – 8:30am – 4pm

The 15th Annual Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit will explore a variety of ways in which we can address factors that drive asthma disparities. Attendees will have opportunities to learn about removing race from pulmonary function test interpretation, the need for health justice and eliminating health disparities for people living with asthma, and ways in which asthma education and management for children can be implemented across multiple settings. Afternoon breakout sessions will further explore these themes with discussions of SMART therapy, anti-racism for researchers, using Community Health Navigators to address unmet social needs, establishing stock albuterol in schools, and more!

Questions? Email cappsummit@chop.edu or contact Markeyce Cogdell at cogdellm@chop.edu

2022 Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit

The 14th Annual Asthma Disparities Summit explored the benefits and logistics of engaging community-based resources to support families in managing their child’s asthma. The Summit specifically highlighted Philadelphia’s housing resources, as well as covered national health and housing programs. Professionals will be equipped to better support children with asthma by using a community focused approach which integrates local resources and perspectives from the community-at-large.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the impact of social and environmental stressors that exist in racially and ethnically diverse communities on families with asthma
  • Recognize the ways in which social inequity impacts the environment, the microbiome, and human health
  • Understand policies and practices to promote healthy in home and school environments for children

Keynote address: Neeta Thakur, MD - University of California, San Francisco “Engaging Community, Identifying & Prioritizing Place-based Interventions for Asthma”

Plenary address: Ariangela J. Kozik, PhD - University of Michigan “Asthma, The Microbiome, and Social Equity”

Plenary address: Deborah Gentile, MD - University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine “Impact of Outdoor Air Pollution on Asthma Outcomes”

2021 Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit

The Virtual 13th Annual Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit focused on breaking down barriers in pediatric asthma care. Attendees heard from experts on the ways healthcare systems can break down structural barriers to economic mobility, air pollution exposure in urban schools, and SMART Therapy, a relatively novel approach to managing asthma. Afternoon breakout sessions addressed: a) caring for a child with asthma during the pandemic; b) how providers and payors are collaborating to navigate the pandemic; c) improving asthma outcomes through structural home repairs; and d) coordinating home- and school-based asthma care - prior to the pandemic.

Keynote Address: Megan Sandel, MD, MPH – Boston University School of Medicine “Is Equity Enough? How Healthcare Systems Can Breakdown Structural Barriers to Economic Mobility”

Plenary Address: Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, MD, MS – Columbia University Irving Medical Center “Air Pollution Exposure in Urban Schools and the Influence on Childhood Asthma”

Plenary Address: Eric Bateman, MBChB, MD – University of Cape Town Division of Pulmonology “Inhaled Corticosteroids/Long-Acting B2-agonists as Relievers: The SMART Approach”

Other presentations from this year’s Summit:
Introduction & Welcome: Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD, Medical Director- CAPP

2020 Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit

The Virtual 12th Annual Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit built on existing knowledge and experience with a deeper discussion on health inequities in childhood asthma. Experts shared lessons learned from implementing a patient-centered approach to asthma management in diverse populations. This year’s Summit also included two sequential workshops, one of which addressed the impact and challenges of COVID-19 on families managing childhood asthma, as well as the successful adaptation of a home-based asthma intervention program during a pandemic, while the second workshop’s focus was on a school-based asthma medication intervention in West Philadelphia, pre-COVID-19.

Keynote Address: Dr. Jean L. Raphael, MD, MPH, Baylor College of Medicine - “Differences to Determinants: Elevating the Discourse on Health Inequities in Pediatric Asthma”
Dr. Jean L. Raphael’s presentation

Plenary Address: Dr. Kaharu Sumino, MD, MPH, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis – “The Real-World Effectiveness of Symptom-Based, Intermittent Use of Inhaled Corticosteroids in Mild Asthma: Results and Lessons from a Patient-Centered Study”
Dr. Kaharu Sumino’s presentation

Other presentations from this year’s Summit:
Introduction & Welcome: Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD, Medical Director- CAPP and Peter Grollman, Senior Vice President, External Affairs, CHOP
Asthma Summit Introduction & Welcome

Community Asthma Prevention Program (CAPP)/CAPP+ Home Repairs Program Updates: Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD, Medical Director
CAPP Update

2019 Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit

The 11th Annual Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit explored the benefits and logistics of engaging community-based resources to support families in managing their child’s asthma. The Summit specifically emphasized Philadelphia’s housing resources, but also highlighted several national health and housing programs. Professionals learned how to better support children with asthma using a community-focused approach, integrating local resources and perspectives from the community-at-large, after attending the summit.

Keynote Address: Shavon Arline-Bradley, MPH, MDiv – R.E.A.C.H. Beyond Solutions LLC - “Engaging the Community for Successful Outcomes”

Plenary Address 1: Kevin Kennedy, PhD - Children’s Mercy Kansas City Housing Program -“Asthma-Friendly Home Program at Children’s Mercy”

Plenary Address 2: Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD – CAPP Medical Director – “Moving Upstream: CAPP+ Creates Asthma-Safe Homes”

2018 Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit

The 10th Annual Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit focused on the benefits and logistics of the emerging alliance among Philadelphia’s clinic, community and school professionals - as well as with caregivers of children with asthma. By learning about the current efforts and the inter-professional communication across sectors, the audience became better-equipped to support children with asthma, while using a health-equity lens.

Keynote Address: Randall Brown, MD, MPH, University of Michigan School of Public Health – “Asthma Disparities: Policy, Interventions, and Public Health Perspectives”

Plenary Address 1: Shavon Arline-Bradley, R.E.A.C.H. Beyond Solutions, LLC – “Health Equity: Importance in Tackling Asthma Disparities”

Plenary Address 2: Daphne Koinis-Mitchell, PhD, Brown University, and Jordon Begay, BS, CHES, Navajo Childhood Asthma Program - “United Front: Addressing Disparities in Communities where Children Live, Learn, and Play.”  Moderator: Tyra Bryant Stephens, MD, West Philadelphia Controls Asthma

2017 Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit

During this year’s Summit, experts provided an overview of 20 years of childhood asthma research and clinical practice guidelines along with a summary of current trends in asthma diagnosis and treatment, particularly as it relates to morbidity, mortality and racial and ethnic disparities.  This overview deepened attendees’ knowledge of the current state of this issue, highlighted and identified gaps in policy and programming, and provided discussion around upcoming research initiatives.

Keynote Address: Lara Akinbami, MD, National Center for Health Statistics – “The Last 20 Years: Then, Now, and the Future of Asthma Disparities”

Expert Panel: “State of Asthma: Then to Now” - Panelists: Wanda Phipatanakul, MD, MS, “School Interventions and Asthma”; Beverley J. Sheares, MD, MS, “Behavior Interventions and Asthma”; and Robert Grundmeier, MD, “The Electronic Health Record and Asthma”. Moderator: Trude Haecker, MD

2016 Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit

The 8th Annual Fighting Asthma Disparities Summit highlighted issues including: 1) the social determinants of health and asthma; 2) the effects of tobacco marketing on smoking rates and smoking cessation in Philadelphia; 3) housing challenges and solutions in Philadelphia; 4) ways to educate low-literacy caregivers about asthma; and 5) the ways asthma impacts learning and the current Philadelphia School Asthma Plan.

Keynote Address: Rosalind Wright, MD, MPH, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai – “Is Toxic Stress Taking our Breath Away?”

Plenary Address 1: Chen Kenyon, MD, MSHP, CHOP/UPenn & Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD, CHOP CAPP Medical Director - “Asthma Population Health Issues and Solutions”

Plenary Address 2: Ryan Coffman, MPH, CHES, CTTS-M, Philadelphia Department of Public Health - “Tobacco Sales as a Social Determinant of Asthma”