National Latino Research Center at Cal State San Marcos Receives Funding from The California Endowment to Help Fight Asthma


With funding from The California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation, the National Latino Research Center (NLRC) at Cal State San Marcos will provide technical assistance to coalitions in the region working to improve quality of life for school-aged children with asthma.

The NLRC has been awarded $352,297 by The Endowment to provide technical assistance to asthma coalitions in San Diego and Imperial Counties working as part of the Community Action to Fight Asthma (CAFA) initiative, a $12 million, three-year statewide program that supports 12 community-based partnerships across California that work with the public, private and nonprofit sectors to reduce the environmental risk factors that trigger asthma, particularly in rural and urban areas with high rates of the disease.

According to the landmark 2001 California Health Interview Survey, asthma rates in California have reached an alarming level, particularly in low-income and rural areas. Nearly 3 million Californians suffer from asthma symptoms. Asthma is a chronic disease that often begins in childhood and is the number one cause of disability, hospital admissions and school absenteeism among children.

"This is an excellent opportunity for the NLRC and Cal State San Marcos to strengthen partnerships in the San Diego and Imperial Valley regions," said Gerardo Gonzalez, director of the NLRC and a professor of psychology at the university. "In collaboration with community coalitions and The California Endowment, we hope to contribute to the prevention of community-wide health problems, such as asthma in children."

As the regional technical assistance center for the CAFA initiative, the NLRC will provide technical support to local community-based partnerships by helping to stimulate and build coalitions, design and implement interventions, collect and analyze data, and advance policies that reduce the risks of asthma in the environments where school-aged children live, learn and play.

"Even with the best clinical management, children with asthma still face major challenges if their homes, child care facilities, schools, recreational or outdoor environments contain asthma triggers that can cause an attack," said Robert K. Ross, M.D., President and CEO, The California Endowment. "Therefore, an effective intervention must not only focus on health care solutions, but also address asthma triggers in these children's environments."

The California Endowment works with organizations and institutions that directly benefit the health and well-being of Californians. Their mission is to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. For more information, visit their Web site at www.calendow.org.

For more information about the National Latino Research Center at Cal State
San Marcos, call 760-750-3500 or visit www.csusm.edu/nlrc