National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month

Each May, thousands of organizations join together for Asthma Awareness Month to increase public awareness of the widespread burden of asthma, take action, and get asthma under control in communities across the nation. During the month of May, the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) organizes an annual event to improve asthma awareness and care around the world. This year, World Asthma Day is Tuesday, May 7 and the theme will be, “You Can Control Your Asthma.”

Asthma is one of the nation’s most prevalent health conditions. One in 12 Americans has asthma, and about 9 asthma-linked deaths happen every day in the US. CDC’s National Asthma Control Program (NACP) funds 34 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to implement asthma control initiatives for their populations. Since the NACP was founded in 1999, the NACP and its grantees’ asthma control programs have improved the quality of asthma care, improved asthma management in schools, and fostered policies to help reduce air pollution.

Increase your awareness of asthma and your knowledge about asthma control by visiting CDC’s NACP website.

CDC TRAIN

The CDC TRAIN community offers more than 5,300 courses to over 59,000 registered learners. Visit CDC TRAIN to find courses to support your professional development needs.

In support of National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month, we have selected 2 courses available via CDC TRAIN that have received high ratings from learners who completed them.

AAFA’s Asthma Management and Education Online [CE]

This course is based on the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program's (NAEPP) "Four Components of Asthma Management."

Ohio Department of Health’s Staying in the Game with Asthma (SIGWA)

This multimedia educational program provides physical education teachers and coaches with the knowledge they need to care for students with asthma.

CDC Earns Accreditation with Distinction

National Nurses Week is held every year during May 6-12. This event is a time to recognize the diverse ways America's 3.1 million registered nurses work to save lives and to improve the health of millions of individuals.

In honor of this event, we want to share some significant news that demonstrates CDC’s continued support of nursing professionals.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) recently awarded CDC Accreditation with Distinction. This is the highest recognition granted by ANCC. Accreditation with Distinction formally recognizes that CDC has provided high-quality continuing nursing education (CNE) over an extended time. In 2012, CDC provided CNE contact hours to over 49,000 nurses.

Free CE

Do you know that many CDC webcasts, journal articles, conferences, and other learning activities offer free continuing education (CE) to health professionals? CDC works with 6 accrediting organizations to certify continuing education (CE) for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, certified health education specialists, veterinarians and other health professionals. In calendar year 2012, CDC awarded over 175,000 hours of CE to over 105,500 professional learners. Last month over 11,600 learners earned CE provided by CDC. Visit TCEOnline to locate courses that will support your continuing education requirements. If you are interested in finding out how to provide CE for your CDC-funded educational activities, contact CE@cdc.gov.

Webinar for Health Educators and Learning Professionals

Date: May 30

Time: 3-4 p.m. EST

Topic: Accessibility and Interactivity

The Health Educators and Learning Professionals Community of Practice (HELP CoP) hosts monthly webinars about instructional design, and is open to anyone in the field of health education or workforce development. Learn more about this month’s webinar and upcoming events by joining HELP CoP on phConnect.

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