About CAPHI

The California Asthma Public Health Initiative (CAPHI) is a program of the California Department of Public Health.  CAPHI's core mission is to strategically reduce the impact of asthma and eliminate related health inequities in California by collaborating with partners to promote best practices and policies in asthma prevention, management, and control. Through coordinated approaches and partnerships, CAPHI seeks to reduce preventable asthma morbidity and mortality; to eliminate disparities in asthma practices and outcomes; and to implement effective programs and policies in asthma education, management, and prevention according to the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) Guidelines.  For more information, please click here to view the CAPHI Fact Sheet.

CAPHI partners include individuals with asthma, health care providers, county health departments, foundations, coalitions, academic institutions, policymakers, and local, state, and national organizations.

CAPHI has collaborated with stakeholders to effectively address asthma across the state through the development of resources and programs including the following:

• Strategic Plan for Asthma in California - 2002-2006 and 2008-2012
• Guidelines for the Management of Asthma in California Schools
• Asthma Action Plan for Schools and Families
• Asthma Clinical Quality Improvement Programs
• Enhancing Local Capacity to Address Asthma Priorities (ELCAAP) Program

The ELCAAP program is 3-year initiative in which CAPHI is working directly with three Central Valley county health departments to strategically and collaboratively facilitate local efforts to reduce the burden of asthma.

Since 2001, the CAPHI program has conducted four clinical collaboratives (including the Childhood Asthma Initiative, California Asthma Among the School Aged, Best Practices in Childhood Asthma, and Improving Asthma Control) with nearly 30 community agencies and health centers to promote improved pediatric asthma care and outcomes across California. These clinical initiatives have directly impacted over 25,000 children with asthma and have resulted in these children experiencing significant clinical care improvements and reduced morbidity, including statistically significant decreases in emergency visits (between 64 and 78 percent) and decreases in hospitalizations (between 67 and 85 percent). 

Additional information about current and past CAPHI programs is available through the Programs link in the Main Menu.