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Stephen W. Nicholas, MD, Betina Jean-Louis, PhD, Benjamin Ortiz, MD, Mary Northridge, PhD, MPH, Katherine Shoemaker, MPP, Roger Vaughan, DrPH, MS, Michaela Rome, PhD, Geoffrey Canada, MEd and Vincent Hutchinson, MD For The Harlem Children’s Zone Asthma Initiative

Stephen W. Nicholas, Benjamin Ortiz, and Vincent Hutchinson are with the Department of Pediatrics, Harlem Hospital Center/Columbia University, New York, NY; Betina Jean-Louis, Michaela Rome, Katherine Shoemaker, and Geoffrey Canada are with the Harlem Children’s Zone, Inc., New York; Mary Northridge and Roger Vaughan are with the Harlem Health Promotion Center, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Stephen W. Nicholas, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Harlem Hospital Center/Columbia University, 506 Lenox Avenue, MLK 17-105, New York, NY 10037 (e-mail: swn2{at}columbia.edu).

Objectives. We determined the prevalence of asthma and estimated baseline asthma symptoms and asthma management strategies among children aged 0–12 years in Central Harlem.

Methods. The Harlem Children’s Zone Asthma Initiative is a longitudinal, community-based intervention designed for poor children with asthma. Children aged 0–12 years who live or go to school in the Harlem Children’s Zone Project or who participate in any Harlem Children’s Zone, Inc, program were screened for asthma. Children with asthma or asthma-like symptoms were invited to participate in an intensive intervention.

Results. Of the 1982 children currently screened, 28.5% have been told by a doctor or nurse that they have asthma, and 30.3% have asthma or asthma-like symptoms. To date, 229 children are enrolled in the Harlem Children’s Zone Asthma Initiative; at baseline, 24.0% had missed school in the last 14 days because of asthma.

Conclusion. The high prevalence of asthma among children in the Harlem Children’s Zone Project is consistent with reports from other poor urban communities. Intensive efforts are under way to reduce children’s asthma symptoms and improve their asthma management strategies.

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