Access to appropriate clinical care is vital to addressing the problem of asthma. Ideally, clinical management of asthma involves a timely diagnosis and prescription of maintenance and emergency medications. The integration of clinical management along with public health preventative measures is also essential. Physicians and other health care providers can move towards a more comprehensive approach to asthma management and prevention by having a better understanding of the environments their patients live in, assuring cultural competence in the care that is delivered, and engaging in non-clinical advocacy efforts that may impact the neighborhoods of their patients. This section provides information and strategies related to the role of clinicians in improving asthma disparities.

• Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Quality of Asthma Care, link to full PDF.

• Beliefs About Asthma and Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Low-Income Inner-City African-American Adults, link to full PDF.

• The Contributing Role of Health-Care Communication to Health Disparities for Minority Patients With Asthma, link to full article.

• Ethnic-specific differences in bronchodilator responsiveness among African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Mexicans with asthma, link to abstract.
• Strengthening Asthma Education to Enhance Disease Control, link to full article – PDF.
• The Providers Guide to Quality and Culture, link to website
• HRSA Cultural Competency Resources for Providers, link to website
• Applying the Physician Asthma Care Education (PACE) Program to Underserved Communities (APPUC) Materials