The Child Asthma Link Line: a coalition-initiated, telephone-based, care coordination intervention for childhood asthma.

Abstract

Childhood asthma is a complex chronic disease that poses significant challenges regarding management, and there is evidence of disparities in care. Many medical, psychosocial, and health system factors contribute to recognized poor control of this most prevalent illness among children, with resultant excessive use of emergency departments and hospitalizations for care. Recent national guidelines emphasize the need for community-based initiatives to address these critical issues. To address health system fragmentation and impact asthma outcomes, the Philadelphia Allies Against Asthma coalition developed and implemented the Child Asthma Link Line, a telephone-based care coordination and system integration program, which has been in operation since 2001. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Child Asthma Link Line integration model to improve asthma management by measuring utilization markers of morbidity.