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Engaging the Community in Coalition Efforts to Address Childhood Asthma

King County Allies Against Asthma program of the King County Asthma Forum (KCAF), Seattle University College of Nursing in Seattle, Washington

Laurie L. Lachance, PhD, MPH

Allies Against Asthma, Center for Managing Chronic Disease, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Frances D. Butterfoss, PhD, MEd

Consortium for Infant and Child Health (CINCH), Center for Pediatric Research at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia

Christy R. Houle, MPH

Allies Against Asthma National Program Office, University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Elisa A. Nicholas, MD, MSPH

Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma (LBACA), The Children’s Clinic, Serving Children and Their Families in Long Beach, CA, University of California at Irvine School of Medicine in Irvine, California

Lisa A. Gilmore, MBA, MSW

National Capital Asthma Coalition in Washington, D.C.

Marielena Lara, MD, MPH

Alianza Contra el Asma Pediátrica en Puerto Rico (ALIANZA) and the UCLA/RAND Program Latino Children with Asthma, UCLA Department of Pediatrics and RAND Health in Santa Monica, California

Amy R. Friedman, MPH

Allies Against Asthma, Center for Managing Chronic Disease at the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor, Michigan

For health improvement efforts to effectively address community needs, community members must be engaged in planning and implementing public health initiatives. For Allies Against Asthma’s coalitions, the community included not only the subpopulation of individuals who suffer disproportionately from asthma but also the individuals and institutions that surround them. Through a quantitative self-assessment survey, informal discussion among coalition leadership, and interviews with key informants, data relevant to community engagement identified a number of important ways the Allies coalitions approached community involvement. Respondents’ comments made clear that the way the coalitions conduct their work is often as important as what they do. Across coalitions, factors that were identified as important for community involvement included (a) establishing a commitment to community involvement, (b) building trust, (c) making participation feasible and comfortable, (d) responding to community identified needs, (e) providing leadership development opportunities, and (f) building a shared commitment to desired outcomes.

Key Words: community engagement • community • coalition • asthma

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