Cockroaches, dust mites and mold, oh my!
By Alena Groopman

What do mold, cockroaches and dust mites all have in common?  Students at the East Los Angeles Skills Center discovered that these are all indoor allergens that can cause problems for people with asthma.  Staff from the Center’s outreach program gave an informative presentation at the school, describing what current research shows about triggers for asthma and how to prevent them.  The presentation, which focused on current asthma and allergies research advances, was sponsored by the Center’s outreach program and the HOPE Partnership (http://coep.pharmacy.arizona.edu/hope.html).

The HOPE Partnership is a nationwide public health science education project designed to enhance the general public's scientific literacy and to improve public understanding of the biomedical and health-related sciences and the impact of research on human health.

On October 10, 2006 staff from the Center’s outreach program gave a presentation on current asthma and allergies research advances, sponsored by the Center’s outreach program and the HOPE Partnership.

The hour-long presentation began with a brief pre-quiz to get the group thinking about what they know and questions they might have regarding asthma and allergies. 

Staff then presented the informative PowerPoint Presentation on Asthma, Allergies and the Environment, which described the research links between the environment and asthma, risk and susceptibility factors for asthma and allergies, and how to reduce asthma and create a healthy environment.  Students found it interesting to learn about the various interventions that can be taken to reduce asthma risk by making simple changes to their indoor home environments.  Knowing their own or their child’s asthma triggers and removing those triggers from the home remained an important step in that process.

The participants engaged in the entertaining and educational activity “Asthma Bingo” to strengthen the information and knowledge gained from the presentation.  Students enjoyed the game thoroughly and it helped to solidify the actions needed to lessen the asthma and allergy burden. 

The back and forth dynamic and interaction of the entire session proved to serve as an excellent style of teaching and learning.  The students’ motivation and excitement for learning new material made the event a success.

Asthma Fact Sheets for those interested in learning more about specific triggers, such as Outdoor Air Quality and Asthma, Indoor Air Quality in the Home, Indoor Air Quality in the School, Diesel and Asthma, Asthma in California, were also provided to participants. 

For more information on the educational materials on asthma and allergies, contact us at scehsc@usc.edu.

Funding for the presentation was provided by the HOPE Partnership. (http://coep.pharmacy.arizona.edu/hope.html)

For more information, please contact Alena Groopman, Public Health Coordinator for the Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center at 323-442-1359. 

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