Community Asthma Prevention Program

The Community Asthma Prevention Program (CAPP) of Philadelphia serves children, their parents, and asthma caregivers. CAPP works in many Philadelphia communities to offer free asthma education, home visits and training to school personnel and primary care providers. CAPP provides a community-driven asthma management program that is comprehensive and sustainable. The comprehensive services and include 1) community asthma education classes in schools, churches, and daycare centers throughout the city; 2) a home visitor program to address the home environment of children with asthma; 3) a school program that provides asthma education for school personnel; and 4) a primary care provider education component for primary care practitioners across the city. The curriculum is based on You Can Control Asthma, a validated asthma education program developed at Georgetown University. The classes are interactive and structured so that both parents and children can learn simultaneously. The program also incorporates a home visit component, where trained lay-educators visit families of asthma patients in order to address the home environment. In 2006, the CAPP mission expanded to include injury prevention education.

The goal of the Community Asthma Prevention Program is to provide a community-driven asthma management program in order to increase asthma awareness and knowledge, and to increase the quality of life of those living with asthma.

Between 1997 and August 2006 over 180 classes have been conducted in Philadelphia, reaching nearly 3000 participants. Participant knowledge acquisition has been measured using pre and post testing, as have quality of life changes and self-management skills. The organization has demonstrated that asthma knowledge, asthma control and asthma quality of life have improved in participants who have attended classes and that the improvement is maintained for at least one year.