Respiratory Health Association

RHA aims to achieve healthy lungs and clean air for all in a manner that focuses fist on achieving healthy equity among Chicago's diverse populations. Prevent lung disease, promote clean air, and help people live better through education, research, and policy change.

The primary strategies we employ are:

(a) Education of people living with or at risk of lung disease and of those who care for them (including family, health care providers, teachers, etc.). We provide disease management education to students with asthma and their adult caregivers. We train community-based organizations and health care systems how to best help their clients stop smoking. We provide educational resources to people living with COPD and their informal caregivers, and we provide information to communities and policymakers about the lung health threats posed by air pollution.

(b) Advocacy and Policy development. We propose and advance policies and legislation that support an environment that supports healthy lungs and clean air. This includes school-based policies for addressing asthma, protecting communities against industrial developments that pollute the air, ensuring smoke-free environments and restricting access to e-cigarettes. We engage our volunteer advocate base to apply pressure to policymakers both in advancing new lung health policies and opposing proposed legislation that is harmful to the public’s health.

(c). Research. We conduct research and support the research of others to support advancements in lung health. For example, we are currently studying the impact of RHA’s COPD Caregiver’s Toolkit on caregiver quality of life. We also award annual research grants to examine different aspects of lung cancer, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and women’s lung health. We also partner with academic researchers, often engaging community partners to inform those efforts.

WE USE HEALTH EDUCATORS AND OTHER TRAINED STAFF/VOLUNTEERS TO EDUCATE
STUDENTS, PATIENTS, CAREGIVERS AND COMMUNITIES ABOUT HOW THEY CAN BEST
MANAGE THEIR CONDITIONS.

LIVING BETTER TOGETHER COPD CONFERENCE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOOLS TO SUPPORT HOSPITAL DISCHARGE AND CAREGIVING, AND RADON AWARENESS EFFORTS AMONG OTHERS. WE ALSO EDUCATE PEOPLE HOW TO AVOID CORONAVIRUS, PARTICULARLY THOSE AT RISK OF SEVERE COVID19 AND PREVENT YOUTH FROM USING TOBACCO PRODUCTS, INCLUDING ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES.

PROMOTE POLICIES THAT IMPROVE INDOOR AND OUTDOOR COLLABORATION WITH NUMEROUS COMMUNITY􀀫BASED PARTNERS, AS WELL AS THE CITY OF CHICAGO, LOCAL ILLINOIS PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS, AND HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
RESPIRATORY HEALTH ASSOCIATION PROVIDES TRAINING ON ITS "COURAGE TO
QUIT(R)" SMOKING CESSATION CURRICULUM AND "COUNSEL TO QUIT(R)" TRAINING
TO HELP HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS ASSIST THEIR PATIENTS IN QUITTING
AIR QUALITY, MITIGATE FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE, AND RAISE
AWARENESS ABOUT HOW AIR POLLUTION AFFECTS LUNG HEALTH.
WE SUPPORT EDUCATIONAL/AWARENESS ACTIVITIES TO LIMIT EMISSIONS FROM
DIESEL VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT, URGE MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS AND FREIGHT
BUSINESSES TO REQUIRE THE USE OF CLEANER DIESEL CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT,
AND OTHERWISE PROMOTE EFFORTS TO ENSURE CLEAN AIR. WE WORK TO: LIMIT
POLLUTION BY FOSSIL FUEL􀀫FIRED POWER PLANTS THROUGHOUT ILLINOIS; REDUCE
AIR POLLUTION FROM TRANSIT VEHICLES, INCLUDING DIESEL BUSES AND
LOCOMOTIVES, AND IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY􀀫BASED AWARENESS ACTIVITIES TO
INFORM LOCAL RESIDENTS ABOUT RISKS TO THEIR LUNG HEALTH.