Eliminating asthma disparities: a national workshop to set a working agenda.

In February 2005, a national workshop was held in Chicago, IL, to address the problem of disparities in asthma. A multidisciplinary group of > 1,000 national experts reviewed key issues related to asthma health disparities; considered current research, clinical care, and policy related to this problem; and developed a set of recommendations to reduce these disparities. The themes addressed were genetics, indoor environment, outdoor environment, family/social function, behavioral health, health-care delivery, health-care communications, role of community, role of private insurance, role of safety net providers, and state and local policy.