BOSTON AND WASHINGTON D.C., JANUARY 31, 2024 – The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) and PlatformQ Health have extended their long-standing collaboration for another three years to continue bringing trusted digital education to those affected by asthma and related conditions.
The partnership began in 2018 with the launch of accessible, actionable education for healthcare providers and the families they serve. Both organizations have long recognized that inequities in access to healthcare and health education exacerbate asthma and lead to the increased use of emergency rooms. Together, AAFA and PlatformQ Health have produced timely digital education to:
- Expand adoption of asthma education programs, particularly in high-risk populations
- Prompt healthcare professionals to recognize social determinants of health that affect their patients with asthma
- Provide evidence-based patient education on new treatments
“We’re proud to work alongside AAFA to break down barriers to care that impact the lives of children and families,” says PlatformQ Health President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Rosenbloom. “Together, we have seen how education can empower communities to advocate for themselves and reduce the burden of conditions like asthma.”
AAFA and PlatformQ Health have also worked together to help address knowledge gaps among providers caring for patients with atopic dermatitis and related conditions. PlatformQ Health measures the outcomes of each program so that together the organizations can assess the impact on patient and provider behavior and can continually improve the content delivered.
“The collaborative approach with PlatformQ Health brings together organizations, communities, state health departments, patients, and providers to deliver high-quality healthcare education,” said Melanie Carver, Chief Mission Officer for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. “Innovative digital learning methods give us the opportunity to deliver health information to our community in an approachable and effective way.”
Most recently, PlatformQ Health and AAFA presented three posters sharing program outcomes at the 2023 American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology annual meeting, with positive outcomes reported in each.
Since 2018, AAFA and PlatformQ Health, along with partners such as Blackdoctor.org, have produced accredited digital education highlighting the latest advances in care for conditions such as:
- Asthma
- Atopic dermatitis/eczema
- Chronic spontaneous urticaria
- Nasal polyps
The sessions include live panel discussions with notable medical specialists, case studies, and first-hand experiences shared by patients. To further expand their reach, the companies have shared programs live on social media and have produced short “microlearning” videos across LinkedIn and other channels.
AAFA was among the first advocacy partners to participate in Medlive Match, a gamification approach developed by PlatformQ Health that featured two caregivers of children with asthma as game “contestants” who answered questions, while learners at home could “play” along by answering polling questions while the game took place. “We learned about the experience of the caregivers and what led them to be advocates of their own healthcare as well as their children’s care. That’s a very pivotal moment in someone’s life, so the ability to produce a program that captures that very delicate moment and shares it in a way that teaches others is a very unique experience,” says Stacey Denham, Public Health Manager for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
The AAFA/PlatformQ programs often include aligned education for healthcare providers and patients. Also known as “tethered education,” these programs elicit learnings for providers about the needs and experiences of patients. This, in turn, helps the organizations determine future educational needs among patient and provider communities.
To date, more than 8,000 patients and 24,500 providers have been impacted by these much-needed programs.
About the Asthma and Allergy Foundation
Founded in 1953, AAFA is the oldest and largest non-profit patient organization dedicated to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease for people with asthma, allergies and related conditions through research, education, advocacy and support. AAFA offers extensive support for individuals and families affected by asthma and allergic diseases, such as food allergies and atopic dermatitis (eczema). Through its online patient support communities, network of local chapters and affiliated support groups, AAFA empowers patients and their families by providing practical, evidence-based information and community programs and services. AAFA is the only asthma and allergy patient advocacy group that is certified to meet the standards of excellence set by the National Health Council. For more information, visit www.aafa.org.
About PlatformQ Health
PlatformQ Health is the leading provider of interactive digital medical education for clinicians, patients, and caregivers. To improve patient care, PlatformQ Health creates video-first educational modules with premier partners, so learners can better understand conditions, available treatment options, and the latest research. The company’s proprietary platform allows participants to engage in real-time discussion with scientific, research, and patient care experts – and the integrated learning solution enables advocates, administrators, health systems and plans, foundations, societies, member organizations, and associations to measure the impact of their education.