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Acknowledgments

During the spring of the year 2000, a study was conducted of asthma coalitions in an effort to learn more about their origin and development. Since many coalitions had come into existence only within the past few years, the study paid particular attention to their organizational structure and to other factors that researchers believed would be early indicators of success. This study was conducted under the sponsorship of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) and its philanthropic arm, The CHEST Foundation, in collaboration with the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) coordinated by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. ¹

This study consisted of surveys, interviews, reviews of documents, and field notes from presentations made during the ACCP’s 1999 Community Asthma Symposium. The ACCP and The CHEST Foundation have published the information obtained in an evaluation study: A Descriptive Study of Asthma Coalitions, Spring 2000. The study was supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc.

The information gained and the conclusions reached as a result of this study have led The CHEST Foundation to commission this manual. Its purpose is to use existing coalitions as guideposts for newer and developing coalitions. This manual builds on the research and activity in the field to this point. Growth in both numbers and importance of asthma-related coalitions has been dramatic. Newsletters, conferences, regional meetings, and Web sites all speak to the vitality of a movement that is beginning to have a profound effect on the prevention and treatment of asthma. Simultaneously, these coalitions and others serve as models for various communities facing the environmental health hazards of this new century.

Many individuals contributed to the preparation of this manual. We are indebted to each coalition and individual who participated by completing surveys, agreeing to be interviewed, sharing material, reading drafts of the manual, providing detailed comments at various stages of development, and finally those who provided helpful editorial suggestions.

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