Public Awareness Raising

AAOKENYA understand the complexity of asthma and see first hand the barriers and challenges patients with asthma frequently encounter.

Community awareness can significantly impact the approach toward improving asthma outcomes. Creating supportive communities using multifaceted interventions are interactive processes that could influence health.

Creative strategies can provide the key to successful asthma awareness for the community. Community Health Workers play a key role in ensuring health and well-being of the community and should be at the forefront in establishing asthma awareness. Community Health Workers,
some who are Certified Asthma Educators, provide valuable information about the community’s health needs and can strengthen current relationships with community networks. Annual community health fairs offering pulmonary function testing, asthma education, and
other resources provide a vast awareness of asthma to the community.

Invite local health care providers to serve as guest lecturers addressing asthma education and management.Coordinate health fairs with asthma coalitions, school nurses, the local Kenyan Lung Association, local governments, church groups, stakeholders, businesses, and school districts.

Missed school days due to uncontrolled asthma can impact educational achievements. Back-to-school health fairs provide an excellent opportunity to promote asthma awareness. Asthma education referencing students with asthma and asthma management at school should be made available to all school personnel, coaches, and school nurses. Asthma screenings, asthma
education materials for parents, school-based or web-based asthma clubs for student with asthma and their families, friends, teachers and other school personnel promote asthma awareness and demonstrate successful clinical outcomes.

The local news media can be an effective partner for disseminating asthma management and prevention messages. Local television or radio- talk shows can host AAOKENYA or healthcare professionals to address community asthma awareness.

Community centers, local gyms, and fitness clubs can host an annuals asthma walks or runs to be dedicated to promoting unity in the community for achieving asthma control and promoting asthma awareness. Health care professionals can be invited to address optimal treatment,
including pre-exercise warm-up and post-exercise cool-down routines used reduce or prevent exercise-induced bronchospasm.

Support groups provide patients with asthma and their families or caregivers to share common experiences, discuss strategies to successfully managing a chronic illness, and emotional and practical support. Community coffee shops, local restaurants, local hospital, or other medical
facilities can host support group meetings. Sharing asthma awareness strategies and successes with health care professionals around the
globe are key components toward achieving asthma awareness.

It is our duty as AAOKENYA to promote asthma awareness in the community.