Healthy Lungs for Life

Health Care Access

County of Los Angeles

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

According to the 2022 "State of Lung Cancer Report" by the American Lung Association, California's lung cancer screening rates for high-risk individuals rank lowest in the nation, with only 1% receiving screening. Moreover, individuals in disadvantaged communities lack equitable access to lung cancer healthcare, resulting in higher incidence rates compared to other areas in the state. In addition, asthma, a chronic respiratory condition affecting millions of children worldwide, is particularly prevalent in disadvantaged communities. In Southern California, there is a concerning trend of significantly higher asthma rates among young children in low-income areas compared to the national average. Recent data from the Southern California Asthma Consortium reveals that approximately 20% of children aged 2-5 in these communities suffer from asthma, while the national average is 8%. Breathe SoCal is dedicated to addressing these disparities among underserved populations in Los Angeles.

The grant will support Breathe SoCal's dual initiatives: Breathe Easier Lung Cancer Workshops and its Little Lungs program to address lung cancer and asthma in Los Angeles County 's underserved communities. We will launch the Lung Cancer Workshops in July 2023 in Los Angeles County Service Planning Areas 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8. Each workshop will feature pre- and post-surveys, a presentation, group activities, lung screenings, and participant feedback. We seek to increase lung cancer screening rates, promote early diagnosis, raise awareness, encourage people to quit smoking, and increase access to healthcare. The 20 workshops planned for 2023 will reach at least 160 participants. This funding will allow us to expand to the Antelope Valley. The Little Lungs program targets families with children under age 6 living in disadvantaged Central, East, and South Los Angeles communities. It combines presentations, educational materials, on-demand videos, and training to improve asthma management. Educational materials cover symptom recognition, medication administration, prevention measures, and creating a healthy environment. We will collaborate with community organizations, schools, and healthcare providers to enhance awareness and connect families with resources. The program aims to increase awareness of asthma during the period when childhood asthma symptoms are first apparent, improve asthma management, reduce ER visits, and foster community support.

Our vision for success is to address the most common childhood and adult lung diseases in LA County. Currently, too many people with lung cancer are not being diagnosed until their cancer is in a late stage. We seek to increase lung cancer screening rates and early diagnosis, empower people to make informed healthcare choices, and improve health care access. In addition, childhood asthma is much more prevalent in underserved areas; caregivers are not informed how to reduce asthma triggers or what to do if a child has an asthma attack. Our program will increase understanding of childhood asthma, foster community support for families facing this challenge, and enhance the ability to identify and manage symptoms during a critical stage in a child's life. By reducing asthma attacks we will reduce hospital and ER visits for childhood asthma. Long-term success will be measured by increased screening rates, decreased asthma-related emergencies, and enhanced community engagement.

We have defined key indicators of success and established methods to measure the success of these programs. For the Lung Cancer Workshops, the goals are: - 70% of eligible participants get screened for lung cancer. - 70% of participants eliminate one risk factor for lung cancer, such as by quitting smoking - 70% of participants share knowledge and resources through word-of-mouth or social media engagement. For Little Lungs, we seek to: - Increase awareness about common asthma triggers and management techniques. - Improve self-management skills among parents/guardians to reduce asthma symptoms and ER visits for their child. - Enhance community support, fostering knowledge-sharing and support among families in managing lung health. For both programs, we will measure success through pre-and post-program surveys. We will also utilize post-program feedback surveys to gather participants' perspectives on program effectiveness and areas for improvement.