The Children’s Asthma Education Centre is a program of the Department of Pediatrics and Child Heath at the Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg. The CAEC provides education to children and their families and develops and assesses new strategies for education. Asthma education is provided by Certified Asthma Educators. The CAEC accepts referrals from physicians and other health professionals for families who require asthma education. All children who require hospital admission for asthma and their families will be contacted by an asthma educator, usually while the child is still in hospital. Children requiring emergency room care at the Children’s Hospital will also be contacted. We provide one on one teaching, but our emphasis remains on small group education offered through a series of classes for parents of children 3-6 years old, for children 7-11 years old and their parents, and for adolescents. Individual counseling will be considered if there is a special need and an educator is available. Occasional evening sessions are held for parents of children under 3 years and adolescents. The asthma information at this website is based on pamphlets developed by CAEC.

The CAEC started out as a demonstration project in 1997 supported by Manitoba Health, the Children's Hospital Foundation and industry. The goal was to increase access to effective asthma education for families in Manitoba. Between 1997 and 2000 the Winnipeg component of the program focused on delivering small group asthma education to the families of children 3-16 years old who visited the emergency room for acute asthma care. The program was evaluated by means of a controlled study format and revealed that families who attended asthma education classes visited the emergency room significantly fewer times following education than families who did not attend classes. There was less time lost from work by parents of the children who received education and their quality of life also improved.

The mission of the Children’s Asthma Education Centre is to enhance the health and well being of children who have asthma and their families. We are committed to increasing awareness of asthma and its management; to excellence in educating children, families and health care professionals; and to being a leader in asthma education research.