Education Programs

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​Asthma and Allergy Education Programs

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) offers several programs on asthma and allergies for patients, caregivers, and health care professionals.

Asthma and Allergy Education for Patients and Caregivers

ASTHMA Care for Adults

ASTHMA Care for Adults covers information on asthma diagnosis, symptoms, and treatments. It teaches adults how to effectively manage and control their asthma. It is available in two formats:

Severe ASTHMA Care
This self-paced online course helps adults and their caregivers learn how to manage severe asthma. It explains severe and uncontrolled asthma, the impact of severe asthma, asthma management plans, and severe asthma treatments. The information is presented in a variety of formats, including videos, handouts, animations, and more. (Registration details)

You Can Control Asthma

This program is for health professionals who teach school-age children and their families about managing asthma. An implementation guide tells how to use the booklets in clinical, community, school, and home settings. The program also has booklets for children and their parents. It teaches asthma management through pictures and activities. The book for kids is at a third-grade reading level. It helps them make choices and feel in control of their asthma. The book for families is at a fifth-grade reading level. It helps parents help their children manage their asthma. (Ordering details)

Wee Breathers

This program is for health professionals who teach parents of young children about managing asthma. Use it during home visits, one-on-one, or in group classes for parents in child care centers. The full program includes:

  • Instructor’s Guide
  • Asthma-Friendly Home: Checklist for Families
  • Asthma-Friendly Home: Checklist for Providers
  • Seven lessons on asthma management that include lesson handouts (handouts are at a sixth-grade reading level or lower):
    • Lesson 1: Asthma Basics
    • Lesson 2: Asthma Triggers
    • Lesson 3: Controlling Asthma Triggers
    • Lesson 4: Asthma Medicines
    • Lesson 5: Asthma Action Plan
    • Lesson 6: Communicating with the Asthma Team
    • Lesson 7: Asthma Management Goals

The full program is available in English only. (Ordering details)

The lesson handouts are available in Spanish. (Ordering details)

The Asthma-Friendly Home – A Checklist for Families is available in English (Ordering details) and Spanish. (Ordering details)

The Asthma-Friendly Home – A Checklist for Providers is available in English (Ordering details) and Spanish. (Ordering details)

Asthma Resources in Spanish

This series in Spanish has basic information about managing asthma, written in simple terms. (Ordering details)

  • Brochure 1: ¿Que Es Asma? (What is Asthma?)
  • Brochure 2: Lo que Usted Necesita Saber Sobre las Medicinas para el Asma (What You Need to Know about Medicines for Asthma)
  • Brochure 3: Plan para el Control de los Activadores del Asma (Asthma Trigger Control Plan)
  • Brochure 4: Medidores de Potencia Respiratoria (Peak Flow Meters)

Promoting Asthma Patient Engagement in Research (PAPER)

This collection of videos from the Promoting Asthma Patient Engagement in Research (PAPER) research program from AAFA and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) will help you understand asthma and asthma research. The course covers asthma basics, including symptoms, levels of asthma, warning signs, triggers, and treatments. And they cover asthma research topics, including why we need research, understanding clinical research and trials, how to get involved, and other topics. (Registration details)

Managing Food Allergies

This self-paced online course will help you understand the basics of managing your child’s newly diagnosed food allergy while keeping them safe. It covers how food allergies are diagnosed, different types of food allergies, what anaphylaxis is, how to react and how to avoid it, how to find safe foods, and how to handle food allergies outside the home. This course is presented by David Stukus, M.D., pediatric asthma and allergy specialist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. (Registration details)

Programs for Health Care Professionals

Asthma Management Education Course (AME-O)

The AME-O course is based on the NAEPP’s “Four Components of Asthma Management” as presented in the National Institute of Health (NIH), National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP)’s Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR-3): Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma Summary Report and the 2020 Focused Updates to the guidelines.

The course has 10 lessons and four exams that you complete at your own pace. Respiratory therapists and nurses can earn 8.75 contact hours from the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (ANCC). (Registration details)

Asthma Capitals

Where you live can have an impact on your asthma. AAFA’s Asthma Capitals™ report looks at the top 100 most challenging cities in the continental United States to live with asthma.

Read the Report>