1:00pm EST, 12:00pm CT, 11:00am MT, 10:00am PT
Summary:
Children who experience two or more emergency department visits or a hospitalization for asthma are recognized as being at high risk for future unplanned healthcare utilization. Asthma morbidity and mortality are strongly associated with social and environmental disadvantage, and children living in underserved neighborhoods face disproportionate burdens that contribute to poor outcomes.
The Child Opportunity Index (COI), a publicly available measure of neighborhood conditions, provides a structured way to quantify opportunity across educational, health/environmental, and socioeconomic domains. Lower COI scores reflect fewer neighborhood resources and greater structural disadvantage. Children residing in low‑ and very‑low‑opportunity areas are at significantly higher risk for asthma morbidity and mortality and may benefit from enhanced care coordination, health navigation, and targeted support to address barriers that interfere with following the plan of care.
Our program integrated the COI into clinical practice to identify children at greatest risk and deliver focused, equity‑informed interventions aimed at improving health outcomes and quality of life. We would like to present our program design, implementation strategy, and the outcomes achieved through this targeted approach.
Objectives:
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: NURSING: This program has been planned and implemented according to the California Board of Registered Nursing requirements. The Association of Asthma Educators is an approved provider (#13605) of continuing education in nursing. This activity meets the criteria for mandatory continuing education requirements, and the participant is awarded 1.0 contact hours.