Allies Against Asthma Coalitions

The Alianza Contra el Asma Pediatrica en Puerto Rico (ALIANZA) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a coalition centered on the Luis Llorans Torres Residential Project, the largest low-cost housing project in the United States and the Caribbean. Located in the heart of San Juan, the 83-acre project houses more than 8,800 people, about 600 of them identified as children with asthma. The ALIANZA was formed in response to the Allies Against Asthma request for proposals (RFP) and developed with collaboration between RAND and key stakeholders in Puerto Rico. Prior to the RFP, there was little experience with collaborative work in San Juan, and asthma efforts were limited to a few programs conducted by the American Lung Association. Allies funding enabled the formation of the community-based coalition and the development of a comprehensive plan to address asthma. The ALIANZA's objectives focus on four strategic areas: empowering children with asthma and their families and/or caregivers; increasing community awareness and knowledge about asthma; improving access, quality, and financing of asthma health care services; and improving collaboration between the health care system, schools, child care centers, and other private and public community agencies. The evaluation of the intervention in Llorans Torres (including measures of asthma prevalence, morbidity, and health care use) is matched against a control community, also located in San Juan, with a similar sociodemographic and health care delivery profile.