Dr. La Fondria Brown, an author, life coach, and St. Louis resident for 30 years, has lived with allergies and asthma for as long as she can remember.
“Everyday triggers like cigarette smoke and perfume would irritate my airways, leading me to hold my breath every time I would walk past these strong scents,” says La Fondria. “As a young adult, I was given an inhaler and eventually put on a long-term control medicine, which has kept my symptoms under control.”
It wasn’t until later in life that La Fondria realized that everyone in her family had some form of allergies or asthma, and it began to consume their everyday activities. Something needed to change. As a self-proclaimed lifelong knowledge seeker, La Fondria was motivated to learn more about her condition. A member of the Oasis St. Louis organization, a nonprofit for older adults focused on healthy aging, La Fondria has found joy in attending informative programs, meeting new people who understand her condition, and learning how to live a healthier lifestyle.
In 2022, Oasis partnered with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s (AAFA) St. Louis chapter to launch a new program, Asthma Care for Older Adults, as part of the national Health Equity Advancement and Leadership (HEAL) Innovation Program, funded by Amgen Inc. HEAL Innovation is an ongoing, multi-city initiative that offers tailored programming to local organizations across the country to help people at high risk reduce the burden of asthma.
Through this partnership, people such as La Fondria can participate in workshops to better understand their asthma and ways to best manage it. She’s found the course helpful in learning the difference between mild, moderate, and severe asthma; how to mitigate triggers in her home; and the value of an asthma action plan. The program has been instrumental in providing valuable handbooks and materials to utilize in and outside of the course. La Fondria has been so inspired by her experiences with the program, she makes an effort to share her learnings with the broader St. Louis community at church and family gatherings.
“I would encourage anyone to join a class like this,” says La Fondria. “I’ve learned how important it is to manage your symptoms and understand your triggers. Once you know your triggers, it can become easier to control your asthma.”
To provide a deeper look at the local St. Louis program, Jude Ngang, executive director of representation in clinical research at Amgen, spoke with AAFA St. Louis CEO Chris Martinez and Oasis St. Louis program manager Ebow Nketsiah.
What is the Asthma Care for Older Adults program, and how does it support asthma patients in St. Louis?
CM: This program was launched in partnership with Oasis to provide asthma education and healthy home visits to adults 50 and older in the greater St. Louis area. All participants are enrolled in the facilitated version of AAFA National’s ASTHMA Care for Adults asthma education course. The course is facilitated virtually or in person to help them learn how to better manage their condition. As participants complete these courses, we provide an in-home assessment to help identify asthma triggers.
EN: We’ve had great feedback from participants so far. Many have been surprised at the common items in their home that were contributing to asthma symptoms and how they’ve improved since implementing small changes. Adjustments like removing scented detergent or candles or learning that the exhaust fan in your bathroom can help prevent mold. After the assessment, we send them products free of charge, including air purifiers, safe cleaning supplies, and bedding covers that can help remediate the issues triggering their asthma.
Why was it important for this program to be developed for older adults?
CM: Many of the local asthma support programs focus on children. AAFA St. Louis identified a gap in services for older adults with asthma. This program addresses that unmet need. Asthma is a chronic lifelong disease, and it’s important that we provide support throughout all life stages and help ensure everyone has access to the latest asthma management information and technology. That’s why it was important for us to partner with Oasis, who already has such a strong, established relationship with this community.
What are the top challenges for participants in the St. Louis program regarding asthma management?
CM: A lot of the challenges specific to those with asthma in St. Louis surround housing. We’re a city that sits at the confluence of two major rivers, so the high humidity and heat levels can lead to very serious challenges when it comes to mold. A majority of the population are renters, which can make it more difficult to control things like pest control and mold removal, both of which are very common asthma triggers. It’s a big reason why we work with the Oasis team to perform “healthy home visits” to help patients spot some of these issues and provide resources to improve them.
EN: On the topic of asthma self-management, we see knowledge gaps in awareness of triggers and how to effectively use rescue inhalers. A lot of asthma patients in St. Louis struggle with equitable access to healthcare, so they may not have been provided the proper education surrounding rescue medication usage or managing their asthma overall.
What are you looking forward to seeing from the program in the future?
CM: Our goal with all of our programs is to move away from treating symptoms and move toward changing systems. We want to be part of a change-making team that’s finding ways to care for the older adults who are pillars in our community. We’re able to successfully achieve this goal through programs like this, which support older adults with asthma for years to come.
Learn more about HEAL Innovation and the impact that it’s making across the U.S. here, and find out how to get involved with AAFA St. Louis here.
This post was created by SLM Partner Studio on behalf of Amgen. To learn more, visit amgen.com.
