# An Innovative Approach to Improving Asthma Control for World Trade Center Rescue and Recovery Workers through Telehealth Enriched Asthma Management (WTC-TEAM)

> **NIH ALLCDC R21** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2021 · $241,799

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Asthma is prevalent among World Trade Center (WTC) rescue and recovery workers (responders).
Moreover, this population exhibits poorly controlled disease with high health care utilization costs,
particularly among responders affected by mental health conditions. Evidence from the general population
supports that asthma self-management programs can improve asthma outcomes, including asthma control
and health care utilization. However, asthma self- management is not currently part of the WTC Health
Program (WTCHP). That asthma morbidity and mortality are higher in older adults compared to younger
adults is particularly salient for the aging WTC cohort, underscoring the potential for asthma self-
management programs to become vital to meeting the unique needs of this population.
 To address this need, we developed an innovative approach to optimizing asthma care: the
Telehealth Enriched Asthma Management (TEAM) program. This intervention will utilize the existing
clinical infrastructure of the WTCHP, including partnering with the WTC Mental Health Program, to provide
asthma self-management to enhance current asthma care. The TEAM program will also leverage the
recently augmented telehealth capabilities in the WTCHP (implemented in response to the SARS-CoV-2
pandemic) by delivering a series of virtual visits to provide asthma self-management education. Within this
robust telehealth and clinical infrastructure, TEAM will provide care coordinated with other components of
the WTCHP— Treatment Program, Mental Health Program, smoking cessation services, and social work—
via a multifactorial approach that will promote uptake and adherence. The specific aims of the TEAM
program are to: 1) develop an intervention that will expand telehealth capabilities to improve asthma care; 2)
collect and analyze a variety of subjective and objective asthma outcome measures to evaluate the
effectiveness of the TEAM intervention; 3) evaluate current barriers to telehealth platform utililzation as well
as satisfaction with virtual encounters to understand how to improve WTCHP telehealth delivery.
 Our proposal is evidence-based and responds to the specific needs of those most significantly
impacted by the WTC disaster. We anticipate that this program will improve asthma care for this vulnerable
population, while optimizing telehealth capabilities that can be implemented for other health conditions
affecting WTC responders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10315673
- **Project number:** 1R21OH012253-01
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** Erin Thanik
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $241,799
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10315673

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10315673, An Innovative Approach to Improving Asthma Control for World Trade Center Rescue and Recovery Workers through Telehealth Enriched Asthma Management (WTC-TEAM) (1R21OH012253-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10315673. Licensed CC0.

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