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“Most Innovative Project to 
Improve the Health of the
Safety-Net Population"
2019 Research Fast Pitch
Los Angeles Practice-Based
Research Network 
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
Community Clinic Association of
Los Angeles County
SmartAirLA empowers communities to protect their health from pollution with data-driven tools.
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Our efforts:
  • Reduce asthma-related hospitalizations.
  • Decrease asthma-related student absenteeism, with fewer parents missing workdays to care for their afflicted children.
  • Lessen exposure to pollution that can lead to asthma.
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Together with our partners, we launched the FightAsthma Tracker.   The Tracker equips asthma patients to prevent asthma attacks by receiving alerts when asthma danger is high and checking their symptoms and home for asthma triggers.
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Childhood Asthma in Los Angeles County
Prevalence

  • 59,000 high-risk underserved asthmatic children in Los Angeles County

  • About 1 in 11 children (9%) have asthma compared to about 1 in 14 adults (6%)

  • African American children have the highest rates of asthma (25%) compared to Latino children (8%), non-Latino White children (7%), and Asian/Pacific Islander children (4%)

  • Children living in poverty (<100% federal poverty level) have the highest rates of asthma (10.3%)[1]

Burden

  • In 2014, Los Angeles County had 50,937 asthma ER visits, of which 20,767 (40.8 %) were from children under 17

  • Over one-third (34.9%) of asthmatic children went to the ER or urgent care within one-year – highest rate is among children living in poverty (46.4%)

  • 52% of children with asthma missed at least one day of school due to asthma within the past year – highest rate is among African American children (65.4%), followed by Latino children (53.1%), Asian/Pacific Islanders (50.3%) and Whites (30.3%)[2]

 

Cost

  • Charge per asthma hospitalization for children was $23,254 and adults were $42,843 

  • Medicare (28.78%) and Medi-Cal (48.28%) together account for 77% for the payment source of asthma ER visits​ ​[3]

[1] Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

[2] Ibid

[3] California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development

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