National Asthma Resource Hub for EXHALE Strategies

CDC’s National Asthma Control Program (NACP) and its partners help people with asthma achieve better health and improved quality of life. NACP developed EXHALE, a set of six strategies that each contribute to better asthma control.

As a CDC partner, Allergy & Asthma Network has created this repository of resources. As it grows, we will add features to filter and sort resources by keywords, EXHALE strategy and resource type. This resource hub will serve as a central place where health care professionals, asthma coalitions, state asthma programs and others will find evidence-based resources to use with the populations they serve.

The repository includes resources contributed by Allergy & Asthma Network as well as those by state asthma control programs. This repository will grow over time as more resources are added.

This strategy can help to:

• Educate people with asthma and their families on how to use asthma medications
• Educate people on how to manage their condition when asthma symptoms worsen
• Reduce exposures to asthma triggers

Education on asthma self-management can be delivered in a variety of settings, including clinics, emergency departments, hospitals, pharmacies, schools and homes.

Here are some helpful resources with links that coincide with this strategy:

National guidelines recommend that those with asthma avoid smoking and any exposure to secondhand smoke. 

 When exposure to smoking and secondhand smoke is reduced, it can:

• Improve asthma control and lung function.
• Reduce rescue medication use, emergency department visits and urgent office visits.

These resources can help you learn more about smoking cessation and secondhand smoke.

Services during a home visit include:

• Assessments for common triggers of asthma attacks.
• Education on correctly using asthma medication and how to control asthma symptoms.

Home visits can be provided by nurses, certified asthma educators and community health workers.

This strategy can help to: 

• Educate people with asthma and their families on how to use asthma medications
• Educate people on how to manage their condition when asthma symptoms worsen 
• Reduce exposures to asthma triggers

Education on asthma self-management can be delivered in a variety of settings, including clinics, emergency departments, hospitals, pharmacies, schools and homes.

Here are some helpful resources with links that coincide with this strategy: 

This strategy of coordinated care links people to healthcare and social services. Improving linkages and coordinated care includes:

• Quality improvement initiatives.
• Patient-centered medical homes.
• School or community-based programs.

Case management or disease management programs.

Reducing asthma triggers and effective environmental policies can improve conditions where people with asthma live, work, learn and play. 

Examples of best practices include:

• • Grants to low-income residents to improve or repair their homes, such as home weatherization assistance programs. This can help to reduce asthma triggers such as mold and pests.
  • Policies that ban smoking in indoor spaces such as workplaces, restaurants, and bars.
  • Modifying the diesel engines of older school buses to reduce air pollution. 

• Eliminating or reducing exposure to asthma triggers in the workplace.