Recently announced federal funding cuts for asthma care in high-risk areas in Massachusetts highlight the short- and long-term effect of the dissolution of support programs for public health at the community level.

The nearly $1 million in funding from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Department of Public Health (DPH) was intended to “support in-home environmental remediations, such as mold removal and improved ventilation,” according to a statement from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

“The loss of this funding is critically significant for the individuals enrolled in the program,” said a spokesperson for the Massachusetts DPH in an interview. “The termination of this funding will negatively impact opportunities to replicate and expand this model to other communities,” the spokesperson added.

In the short-term, “the funding was intended to improve asthma outcomes for individuals and families by creating asthma-friendly conditions at home and helping individuals enrolled in the program better manage their asthma,” the spokesperson told Medscape Medical News. In the long term, the funding was intended to address housing quality issues and increase awareness among residents and community organizations about environmental health and the effect of indoor air quality on asthma management and control, the spokesperson said.

A recent report from the American Lung Association gave Hampden County, Massachusetts, a grade of C on air quality. “The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) looked at a variety of factors beyond only air quality to select a partner organization in this work, including overall asthma burden in the communities where this work would occur, with an emphasis on Massachusetts’ Environmental Justice Communities,” according to the spokesperson. Revitalize Community Development Corporation in Springfield, Massachusetts, was selected as a partner organization.

Irreplaceable Resources

The state was relying on the federal funding to implement the program, the spokesperson told Medscape Medical News. “The state is not able to replace the millions of dollars in federal funding being terminated by the Trump Administration,” the spokesperson said. However, “we remain committed to continuing our efforts to improve air quality and reduce respiratory illnesses and asthma, including through enhanced air monitoring, strong public health protections from pollution, and planting more trees in urban areas,” the spokesperson added.

Takeaways for Clinicians in High-Risk Areas

For patients with asthma who live in high-risk locations with poor air quality and other environmental factors, clinicians should continue to treat patients in alignment with the latest guidelines the spokesperson said. This includes discussing environmental factors and triggers in controlling asthma symptoms, raising patient awareness of the short- and long-term effects of poor air quality on asthma, and helping them build strategies to mitigate these effects, the spokesperson added.