Baltimore City students have asthma at rates higher than anywhere else in Maryland, according to the Baltimore City Health Department. Approximately 33% of high school students have been told by a doctor or nurse that they have asthma. That’s why three Johns Hopkins organizations from the health system and university collaborated to train community health workers who can teach students the importance of air quality and how to make their own air purifiers.

"Having a good ventilation system means a lot," says Panagis Galiatsatos, M.D, M.H.S., an associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He plays an active role in all three organizations. "Poor air quality equals poor health outcomes. We want the students to have healthy air to breathe."

The air purifier project is funded by the Breathe Center, a group of Johns Hopkins Medicine physicians, scientists and trainees who advocate for lung health through research and community engagement. Medicine for the Greater Good, a Johns Hopkins Medicine initiative focused on eliminating socioeconomic barriers in the community, trained and certified community health workers who teach students about the importance of air quality. The Johns Hopkins Health Education and Training (HEAT) Corps provided the curriculum for the classes focused on air quality.

"The most important part of this program was that it came from a multidisciplinary team," says Catherine Ling, Ph.D., F.N.P-B.C., C.N.E.,  F.A.A.N.P., F.A.A.N., an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and a member of HEAT Corps. "By bringing these folks together with a mission, we have been able to meet communities where they live and address the needs they have. This project is an opportunity to create exponential good where we live."

Through his roles in the three organizations, Galiatsatos says he saw an opportunity to train teachers already in the school system as certified community health workers.

"You can go to the gym and work out, or you can have a personal trainer. Community health workers are like personal trainers who turn a scientific curriculum into real actions," says Galiatsatos. "Having this training has bolstered their confidence about how best to make a difference with these students."

Armistead Gardens Elementary and Middle School’s principal, Justin Holbrook, says learning about the science of lung health and how it can impact them has increased the students’ advocacy skills.

"The students are going home and translating the importance of air quality to their families," Holbrook says. "We’re not just teaching them the technical skills but showing how science can apply to real life."

Armistead Gardens Elementary/Middle School's health teacher and librarian, LaShawn McClary, was one of the educators who became a certified community health worker.

"I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a community health worker at my school," McClary says. "After having done the work, it has been rewarding to see the connections I’ve made with families. Schools that have disparities need an advocate."

McClary said the air purifier project stemmed from meetings with parents who talked about the poor air quality in their homes.

"Many of our students have asthma or have a family member who has asthma. Indoor air quality is a big concern, and it’s also something they can control," McClary says. "Teaching the students about air quality and how to create an inexpensive air purifier can really make a difference in their health."

McClary used the HEAT Corps curriculum in her seventh grade classes. As a final project, students created air purifiers by taping high-efficiency air filters to box fans provided by Johns Hopkins Medicine. The students also created user manuals to help their families learn how to change the filters. They were taught to run the air purifiers 30 minutes a day.

"After learning more about their lungs and brains, many of them are more aware," McClary says. "The students were surprised by how easy creating the air purifiers was and how effective they can be. We’re empowering them to make a change with a simple tool."

"When we teach them about air purifiers and the science behind them, we’re teaching them about an approach to problem solving," Ling adds. "By putting the tools and knowledge into the hands of young people, we can effect immediate change in the community’s health."

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