The National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases networks on asthma in inner-city children: an approach to improved care.

Asthma in inner-city children is prevalent, has increased severity, and for many patients poses difficulty in achieving control. Although some of the limitations to asthma control in inner-city children include socioeconomic burdens, other factors, such as environmental allergens, pollutants, infections, and stress, contribute significantly to the disease burden found in these children. As a consequence of these unmet needs for asthma control in inner-city children, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases established research networks with an ultimate goal of improving care for this at-risk population. The Inner-City Asthma Network Program began in 1991 and has, over the ensuing years, funded 3 distinct networks that have a common goal: to improve care for the child with asthma. Each of these networks has expanded our knowledge about asthma in the inner cities and asthma in general. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' efforts continue with the current inner-city network, the Inner City Asthma Consortium 2. The following article will discuss the application of these inner-city networks to the study of asthma, the contributions of each of the individual networks, and how newly proposed efforts under the Inner City Asthma Consortium 2 propose to improve our understanding and eventual control of asthma in inner-city children.