Figure 1.

Timeline for HEAL study activities. Children were prescreened for eligibility by phone. During the call, caretakers were asked about the children’s asthma symptoms and post-Katrina living conditions. Eligible children were invited to have a baseline clinical evaluation, where they received a complete asthma workup to confirm their asthma status, blood work for basic clinical and immunological parameters, and skin sensitivity testing. Children who were enrolled in HEAL received three home evaluations and the hybrid asthma counseling intervention over a 1-year period. During each home evaluation, the children’s homes were examined visually, and air and dust samples were collected. The intervention included two in-person visits with an asthma counselor, with one of these conducted in the children’s homes, and additional asthma counseling sessions as needed. The asthma counselor called the caretaker 2 weeks after each in-person session to provide follow-up. To assess changes in the children’s asthma morbidity, caretakers were called every 3 months and surveyed about their children’s asthma outcomes. At the end of the 1-year study period, the children received a final clinical evaluation.