THE ALBERTA ASTHMA RESOURCE CATALOGUE

The latest catalogue is available from CANA

Introduction

Over the past few years, Alberta has seen a surge of asthma programs and services. We believe that the quality of most of these services is outstanding and some of the best in the country. Many factors have facilitated the development of these high standards of asthma care in the province, particularly the exceptional individuals and groups who have worked to improve asthma management in Alberta.

The Alberta Asthma Centre has been instrumental in serving health professionals by offering asthma courses, workshops, continuing education, conducting research and developing education programs. The AAC was first in the country to launch a comprehensive course on asthma and education, the Professional Certification in Asthma Management (ProCAM) for health care professionals. This course has been approved by the Canadian Network for Asthma Care and exceeds the national standards they have set for asthma education programs.

In 1994, the Alberta Asthma Centre coordinated the development of the first Alberta Asthma Network Asthma Resource Catalogue in response to a provincial need. This updated and expanded version is a collective effort of the Alberta Asthma Centre, the Alberta Asthma Network and the Alberta Clinical Practice Guidelines Program administered by the Alberta Medical Association.

This collaborative effort was spurred by the need to increase awareness of the current services and resources available in the province that offer asthma education, and to facilitate their access. In keeping with the Alberta Clinical Practice Guideline recommendations, health professionals, including physicians, can refer their patients to these services; access educational materials for their own use; and/or collaborate with others in designing or enhancing their services and resources.

The catalogue contains a listing of asthma services and/or programs for each of the health regions in Alberta, which was provided by each region. Asthma education is available in most regions. This catalogue also contains section for Asthma Resources, broken down by Special Training Programs, Books, Videos, Brochures, Camps, and Web sites. The resources were selected based on a reflection of principles in the Canadian Consensus Guidelines - accuracy, accessibility, and appropriate for the target audience. The final section lists contact information for Asthma Resources/Services, broken down by Provincial, National, Corporate, and Asthma Related Services and Products.

The Asthma Resource Catalogue has been distributed to physicians, asthma educators, health centres and other health care professionals in the province. It is also be available through the Asthmaville website. W e believe it will be a valuable tool in providing health care professionals with a summary of the asthma resources and services available in the health regions across the province. We need your help in maintaining it as a current resource. If you are aware of a service which is not represented in the catalogue, or any modifications to the current listings, please submit revisions and new submissions to the Alberta Asthma Centre on an ongoing basis. We also welcome feedback and suggestions on how we can enhance the catalogue. Please click here to send updates, revisions and comments to us.