The National City Asthma Project is a coalition effort to fight asthma. The city is focusing its efforts on the west side of National City due to a 500% increase in children with asthma. This is a mixed-use neighborhood (residential and industrial). Data reveals that some auto body shop and other businesses in the area are polluting. The city is educating these businesses on how to be a green business through meetings and code enforcement and working on an area plan. National City's Asthma Committee, through a joint public/private partnership, is educating the community to protect the health and well-being of its citizens. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is using the National City Asthma Committee as a national model.
New report examines connection between air quality and student performance
"Reading, Writing and Breathing: Schools, Air Toxics and Environmental Justice in California," examines one measure of environmental quality, the level of respiratory hazard associated with estimated outdoor air toxics near school sites. The report finds that there are indeed differences, with children of color and poorer children seeming to face higher respiratory hazards. Aside from potential health concerns, there is also evidence suggesting a relationship between our respiratory hazard measure and school-level academic performance, even after accounting for many of the other factors that often explain such performance. The report, published by the Center for Justice, Tolerance and Community at UC Santa Cruz, is available online at www.cjtc.ucsc.edu.
Asthma Among California's Children, Adults and the Elderly: A Geographic Look by Legislative District
Funded by The California Endowment, this policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research provides data for California legislative districts to highlight the variation in asthma symptom prevalence for children and adults across the state. First-of-its-kind sub-county data found in this brief are relevant for policymakers, advocates, and medical providers. Please find this policy brief at
Subscribe to the Southern California Asthma & Environmental Health Update, produced by the National Latino Research Center (NLRC) as part of the Community Action to Fight Asthma (CAFA), a strategic state-wide initiative funded by The California Endowment. Read about regional events, workshops, funding, resources, policy, data and new studies. To subscribe, send your request to nlrc@csusm.edu
