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You are Here: Home Page > New York's Action Against Asthma > Environmental and Occupational Health Initiatives  

Environmental and Occupational Health Initiatives

Air Quality Health Advisories

• The Commissioners of the New York State Department of Health and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) have agreed to issue a joint press release when ozone or fine particle air pollution levels are of concern, especially for people with health conditions such as asthma. Local health units and media outlets are notified of advisories in their region and are directed to the New York State Department of Health web site which provides advice on ways to reduce exposure and offers steps that citizens can take to reduce air pollution. (For more information: http://www.nyhealth.gov/environmental/air_quality/index.htm )

Environmental Education and Outreach Project

• A statewide asthma educational needs assessment was conducted to determine key messages and best practice educational materials on environmental and occupational triggers of asthma. The assessment found persistent problems in communication between providers and their patients. Three new brochures were developed and intended as a shared communication tool for patients and their providers. In addition, easy reading versions were created for patients with lower literacy skills. (For more information: http://www.nyhealth.gov/diseases/asthma/brochures.htm )

Environmental Health Research

• The New York State Department of Health supports continuing analysis and exploration of which environmental factors are important contributors to asthma development and morbidity. Recent and ongoing research efforts include various studies of the potential health effects associated with ambient air contaminants; a study of the potential health impact of residential proximity to large New York State airports; a study of meteorological conditions and health outcomes; assessment of asthma and contributing factors in the school and home environments; and follow-up health studies of World Trade Center responders and community residents. The New York State Department of Health builds upon information from environmental asthma research to develop more effective public health programs aimed at reducing or eliminating exposure to environmental factors.

Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT)

• Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) is the ongoing collection, integration, analysis, and interpretation of data on environmental hazards and potential health effects related to exposures to these hazards. The New York State Department of Health received a five-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2006 to develop an EPHT network that is tracking a core set of nationally consistent data, including asthma, ambient air concentrations of ozone, and fine particles. The New York State EPHT program is collaborating with the New York State Department of Health Asthma program, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Environmental Protection Agency to disseminate coherent public health messages from the analyses of these dat. (For more information: http://www.nyhealth.gov/statistics/environmental/public_health_tracking/

Healthy Home Environments for New Yorkers with Asthma (HHENYA)

• The Erie County Healthy Neighborhood Program (HNP) is collaborating with the New York State Asthma Program and regional managed care plans to design and implement a pilot project to integrate home environmental management into routine asthma care. Under this program, regional managed care plans and providers in Erie County refer selected patients with asthma to the HNP for an in-home environmental assessment and targeted intervention to reduce exposure to environmental conditions that have the potential to affect asthma. The HNP works with referred patients and provide feedback to providers to support the integration of environmental management into each patient's asthma self-management plan. The program will be evaluated and refined based on lessons learned. If substantiated by evaluation findings, the New York State Department of Health will work to support the spread of this approach to other areas in New York State.

Healthy Neighborhoods Program

• The Healthy Neighborhoods Program provides in-home assessments and interventions for asthma, tobacco cessation, indoor air quality, lead, and fire safety in 13 counties throughout New York State. Interventions may include, among others, asthma trigger education; dust, mold, and pest control measures; distribution of pillow and mattress covers; smoking control and cessation education. An evaluation of this program during 1997 to 2000 found that it reduced hospitalizations and was cost-effective.

New York State School AIR Collaborative

• Overcoming Barriers to Implementation of School Indoor Air Quality Management Programs: Many resources are available to help schools identify and fix indoor air quality problems that have may affect students and staff with asthma, but these resources are not always used and findings suggest that even when policies or practices do exist, they are not always enforced or fully implemented. During the 2007 - 2008 school year, the New York State Department of Health will facilitate a series of discussions with personnel from 5 - 10 schools in the Capital District to learn more about potential barriers to implementation of indoor air quality (IAQ) improvement programs in the school setting. The New York State Department of Health will provide guidance and support to school-based teams in order to identify and prioritize their issues, and then develop practical strategies to overcome barriers. Technical assistance for implementing strategies and tracking progress may also be provided to pilot schools. Successful strategies will be noted and refined to develop a set of practices that schools can customize to implement and sustain an IAQ program. The last step of this pilot project will be to convene regional workshops with non-pilot schools to learn how these strategies might be adapted for use on a broader scale.

Occupational Lung Disease Toolkit

• A health care provider toolkit for improving the recognition and reporting of occupational lung diseases, including work-related asthma, has been developed and distributed. (For more information: http://www.nyhealth.gov/environmental/workplace/lung_disease_registry/toolkit/toolkit.htm ).
  A new brochure, "Is Your Asthma Work-Related?" has been developed to help workers identify whether they have work-related asthma.

School Environmental Assessment Project

• The influence of the school environment on childhood asthma was examined by conducting surveys of school nurses, custodians, and district facilities managers to understand how the school environment may increase asthma risk. Ongoing analysis of data from the New York State Education Department's 2005 Building Condition Survey provides additional information about the overall condition of NYS school buildings, the condition of building systems (e.g., ventilation, plumbing), the presence of potential environmental asthma triggers and actions schools are taking to improve indoor air quality. Finally, hospitalization data are being analyzed to identify patterns that may be linked to particular schools. The purpose of this project is to better understand the problem of asthma in the school setting, and to develop and implement targeted, evidence-based interventions.