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Asthma Management Academy (AsMA)

What is the AsMA?

Asthma Management Academy training participants

The Asthma Management Academy (AsMA) is a program of California Breathing , the state asthma program. The AsMA trains community health workers (CHWs) and other health educators how to deliver evidence-based asthma education to individuals and families with asthma.

The training incorporates hands-on activities about:

  • Scope of asthma
  • Asthma triggers, such as mold, pests, and smoking
  • Asthma medications and delivery devices
  • Guidelines-based assessment and monitoring tools, such as the Asthma Action Plan (AAP) and Asthma Control Test (ACT)
  • Best Practices for home visits

More information about the AsMA and its impacts are in the sections below. You can also view all the infographics seen below in the AsMA infographics (PDF)ā€‹.

AsMA Partner Organizations and Participants: Since 2018, the AsMA has trained over 600 CHWs from 88 organizations.

Impact of the AsMA

The impact of the AsMA is measured in the following ways:

  • CHW knowledge and skills 
  • Impact on individuals with asthma

CHW Knowledge and Skills

AsMA participants build skills, knowledge, and competency in asthma education. Through competency testing conducted by a certified asthma educator (AE-C), AsMA participants demonstrated their increased asthma knowledge and newly developed skills after attending the AsMA.

CHW Knowledge and Skills: AsMA participants had an average score of 98% on an asthma competency test.

Impact on Individuals with Asthma

One of the goals of the AsMA is to reduce the asthma burden in the most impacted communities. The AsMA has shown a positive impact on individuals with asthma through reduced emergency department visits and hospitalizations, improved asthma control, and fewer missed work or school days.
Impact on individuals with asthma had reduced hospital utilizations, improved asthma control, and fewer missed work/school days.

Training Logistics

The AsMA is a no-cost training for CHWs and other health educators. It is a live, virtual three-day training facilitated by CHWs and an AE-C. The AsMA is available in English or Spanish. Each AsMA has up to 12 participants.

The information taught in the AsMA is based on the national asthma guidelines and adapted by the Association of Asthma Educators, the California Department of Public Health, and community-based organizations that conduct asthma home visiting. The AsMA curriculum focuses on adult learners and builds skills, knowledge, and competency through discussion, videos, and skill-building activities. Each participant receives an asthma education kit, which includes inhaler demonstration devices, a peak flow meter, spacer, participant manual, and access to AsMA Learning Videos which are available in English or Spanish.

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Is your organization interested in the AsMA?

Participants of an AsMA virtual training

Email us at California.Breathing@cdph.ca.gov

Funding

AsMA is a project of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). AsMA was developed by CDPH with funding from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC-RFA-EH19-1902CONT21) and the California Proposition 99 Cigarette and Tobacco Products Surtax Fund.ā€‹ā€‹

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