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Frequently Asked Questions
Below are answers to questions frequently asked by allergists who are considering an asthma screening program for their community. If you have other asthma screening program questions, please contact the Help Line at (312) 558-1175 or asthmascreening@pcipr.com.
What takes place at a screening program?
How many participants might we expect?
What are my responsibilities as a screening program coordinator?
Do I, by myself, need to do all the activities associated with a screening program?
Who can assist with planning and conducting a screening program?
What role can local AstraZeneca pharmaceutical sales specialists play?
Will I incur costs for coordinating a screening program?
What materials will I receive?
What if I need additional quantities of materials?
How do I secure lung-function equipment for my screening?
When is the best time to hold a screening program?
Where should a screening program be held?
Is my office or clinic an acceptable location for a screening program?
What if more than one allergist in my area signs up?
How much preparation time is needed to plan a screening program?
How can I ensure people will attend my screening program?
I’m an allergist, not a publicist. How will I know how to contact the media?
How do I register to hold a screening program in my community?
When do I receive a screening program manual and screening program kit?
What takes place at a screening program?
A team of health professionals and other volunteers, led by allergists, determines whether breathing difficulties might be asthma. People who screen positive for asthma are encouraged to seek a professional diagnosis.
The specific steps for the screening participants are:
- Complete a Screening Registration and Report Form based on the College’s Life Quality (LQ) Test.
- Take a lung function test, usually spirometry.
- Meet with an allergist to discuss symptoms and test results.
For those who screen positive, a list of local allergists is provided.
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How many participants might we expect?
In screening programs held during the past 11 years, the typical number was between 50 and 75 participants depending on the location, number of screening days, the publicity and number of allergists available for the screening. Publicity, in particular, plays an important role in drawing attendance to screening programs. The publicity not only increases screening attendance, it also reaches many thousands more people with educational information about asthma and allergists.
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What are my responsibilities as a screening program coordinator?
ACAAI allergist members who sign up to be a local asthma screening coordinator will oversee all screening program activities — from planning, to selecting a screening site, to publicizing and conducting the program. Although other volunteers, including allergists, health care professionals and patient support groups, can assist with the screening program, only ACAAI allergist members qualify as local coordinators for screening programs and must be on site the day of the screening.
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Do I, by myself, need to do all the activities associated with a screening program?
No. There are many activities related to planning, publicizing and conducting a screening program, and they should not be done alone. In fact, an asthma screening program offers an opportunity to form partnerships with others in your community who are concerned about asthma. You can assign volunteers to committees responsible for specific tasks such as:
- Volunteer recruitment
- Site selection and arrangements
- Equipment procurement
- Telephone hotline coordination
- Poster and flyer distribution
- News media publicity
- Staff coordination on the screening day
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Who can assist with planning and conducting a screening program?
Partnerships can be formed with allergists, other physicians, patient support organizations, respiratory therapists and other allied health professionals. At some programs, pulmonologists and primary care physicians have helped out, as well.
- Allergists and other physicians. Allergists and other physicians in your community and surrounding area can be invited to participate in a screening program, helping to plan the event as committee members, conducting screenings on the day of the program and being included in a referral list distributed at the screening program.
- Patient support organizations. The Nationwide Asthma Screening Program is conducted in cooperation with the Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). If you have a local chapter or outreach coordinator for one of these patient support organizations in your area, you can contact them personally to determine if they would like to assist with your screening program. Members of these organizations can secure advance publicity, staff a telephone hotline for public information about the screening, recruit other volunteers or help staff a registration table on the day of the screening. In addition to AANMA and AAFA, local chapters of the American Lung Association (ALA) also have assisted with screening programs across the country. Additional information on working with these groups is included in the program manual sent to coordinators after they have reported a scheduled date and location for a screening program.
- Allied health professionals. Respiratory therapists, nurse clinicians, school nurses and pharmacists are resources you can use in coordinating a screening program. These allied health professionals can distribute promotional flyers, publicize the event in membership newsletters and help staff the screening. For example, respiratory therapists can administer spirometry tests.
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What role can local AstraZeneca pharmaceutical sales specialists play?
The ACAAI Nationwide Asthma Screening Program is made possible through generous support from AstraZeneca. At the local level, your AstraZeneca pharmaceutical sales specialist can offer hands-on assistance. At many screening program sites, AstraZeneca sales specialists have helped on the screening day with registrations, greeting participants and distributing health education materials. However, AstraZeneca pharmaceutical sales specialists are not responsible for coordinating local screenings and should not be asked to do so. Only a physician who is an ACAAI member is eligible to be a screening program coordinator.
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Will I incur costs for coordinating a screening program?
You might have some miscellaneous expenses for things such as photocopying, equipment rental, disposable spirometer mouthpieces and perhaps lunch for screening program volunteers. However, these out-of-pocket expenses should be minimal. The supplies provided to you by the College include everything for an excellent screening program. Additional funding for local programs is not available or necessary.
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What materials will I receive?
Each screening site coordinator receives a manual and a kit of materials for conducting the program.
The manual includes comprehensive, step-by-step instructions, timelines, screening protocols, and samples of volunteer recruitment letters, news releases and scripts for public service announcements.
The kit of materials includes:
- A CD-ROM containing the sample materials that are in the coordinator’s manual
- A DVD on last year’s campaign, which can be shown to volunteers during planning meetings
- Screening registration forms
- Publicity posters
- Asthma education brochures, including the Life Quality (LQ) Test
- Allergist referral brochures
- An asthma education DVD that can be viewed by participants as they wait to be screened
- A special children’s support kit of publicity posters, coloring activity sheets, crayons and stickers.
- You also will have access to a telephone Help Line for times when you have questions or need advice.
- Spanish-language educational materials and registration forms are available upon request.
Note: The manual and kit will be sent by UPS ground delivery after you have reported your scheduled date and location for your screening program.
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What if I need additional quantities of materials?
The screening program support kits contain ample materials to conduct a screening program and additional quantities are rarely required. The Help Line can discuss the availability of additional materials if you are conducting multiple screening days or have a large physician staff available for the event. If inventory is available, additional support kits can be purchased.
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How do I secure lung-function equipment for my screening?
Most coordinators use their own equipment or borrow equipment from a local clinic, hospital or respiratory therapist. Some have contacted the local representative of the company whose spirometer is in use in their office to obtain a loan of equipment for their screening program.
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When is the best time to hold a screening program?
Screenings are best scheduled for May, which is Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month and the month the College conducts national publicity about the screening programs. However, if another time is more appropriate in your community, a screening program can be held then.
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Where should a screening program be held?
A high-traffic location is recommended. Some examples are enclosed shopping malls, civic centers, hospitals, schools and community health fairs. Some coordinators have looked for other innovative sites to reach large groups of people and have selected a book store, zoo, local labor union hall and even the state capitol building as their screening site. Screening coordinators also are bringing asthma screenings into the workplace, conducting programs for employees at corporate headquarters offices and manufacturing plants. Most screenings are one-day programs, but they also can be conducted on consecutive days, such as over a weekend.
Note: A Site Selection Checklist with information about choosing a site and securing equipment for a screening program can be viewed on this site.
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Is my office or clinic an acceptable location for a screening program?
No. A screening program held in a private office or clinic may appear as self-promotion for an individual allergist. The screening program is intended to be a public service on behalf of allergists in the community.
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What if more than one allergist in my area signs up?
We will let you know when you register so you and any other allergists can work together on a single program, or coordinate multiple screenings on separate dates or at separate sites in the community. In some communities, combined publicity has been used to promote multiple screening dates or sites.
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How much preparation time is needed to plan a screening program?
Beginning two to three months in advance will help ensure the success of a screening program. The program manual provides a suggested timeline of activities. Be sure to register early to receive your manual and materials well in advance of your chosen screening date.
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How can I ensure people will attend my screening program?
A high-traffic location can be important to good screening program attendance. However, many program coordinators credit publicity with attracting the majority of participants to their screening.
Newspapers, television and radio offer opportunities to reach large audiences with information about a screening program and the early detection, accurate diagnosis and effective treatment of asthma. Publicity also can be used to position allergists as medical specialists who treat asthma.
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I’m an allergist, not a publicist. How will I know how to contact the media?
The screening program manual provides sample materials and detailed instructions on how to work with local media. The screening program telephone Help Line also is available to provide tips and answer questions on how to contact media. You may be surprised by how receptive the media are to public service and health information from sources in the community. It is unlikely that you will need to buy advertising to promote a screening program.
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How do I register to hold a screening program in my community?
To register your community as a screening program site, complete and return the Screening Program Coordinator Registration Form by March 15, the deadline for signing up for this year’s campaign. The final printing of program materials and assembly of kits occurs immediately after March 15, so registrations cannot be accepted after the deadline.
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When do I receive a screening program manual and screening program kit?
2008 program materials, including the screening program manual and kit, will be available in March and will be sent to you by UPS ground delivery after you have reported a screening program date and location by completing the Screening Program Date and Location Form. Please only submit confirmed dates and locations. Tentative dates and locations cannot be accepted.
Although a screening can be held at any time throughout the year, all screening program dates and locations must be reported by April 30 to participate in the 2008 program.
Since the inventory of screening program materials is limited, participation in the program is not possible if the March 15 and April 30 deadlines are not met. |