Surveillance and Program Evaluation Initiatives

Asthma Hospital Discharge Rates by ZIP Code

• ZIP code level data by county are now available on the Department's asthma web site to assist regional asthma coalitions and others in their asthma prevention and control efforts. (For more information: http://www.nyhealth.gov/statistics/ny_asthma/index.htm)

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Asthma Call-Back Survey

• The Asthma Call-Back Survey is an independent survey that is linked to the BRFSS. This survey was first administered in New York State in 2006. Respondents to the NYS BRFSS core survey who have asthma were asked to participate in a special survey to learn more about their asthma. In 2006, 365 adults and 102 children (via proxy) participated in the New York State Asthma Call-Back Survey which obtained information about asthma prevalence, severity/control, quality of life, appropriate use of medications and environmental triggers. These data are reported via specific surveillance publications, such as presentations and reports.

Emergency Department Surveillance

• Legislation was passed that requires all New York State hospitals to report emergency department (ED) data as of January 1, 2005. ED data are collected statewide in the New York State Department of Health Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) Outpatient data file. Asthma surveillance utilizes these data and produces asthma ED visit information at the aggregate level including ZIP code, county, region and state levels for different age groups.

National Asthma Survey (NAS-NYS)

• New York is one of the states that participated in the National Asthma Survey to better understand the scope of the asthma problem in New Yorkers. The NAS report summarizes data from this survey and is posted on the Department's public website (For more information: http://www.nyhealth.gov/statistics/ny_asthma/pdf/national_asthma_survey_nys.pdf ).

School-Based Health Centers Asthma Learning Collaborative - Project Evaluation and Development of Asthma Registry

• The Department is conducting an evaluation of the School-Based Health Center Learning Collaborative which focuses on asthma interventions in five elementary schools in New York City (See Community-Based Initiatives for more information.) In addition, an Asthma Registry has been established for the schools in this project to assist with targeting high-risk asthma students and monitoring the effectiveness of interventions in the school-based health centers.