SESAME WORKSHOP AND EVERYDAYKIDZ.COM Teaming Up To Educate Parents And Kids About Asthma (NAPSA)—The more informed parents are, the better they can play a role in managing their children’s asthma. That’s why AstraZeneca’s Everydaykidz.com program has partnered with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind “Sesame Street,” to guide parents and kids to helpful information about asthma. “We believe Everydaykidz.com offers a reliable, engaging source of information to help caregivers of asthmatic children,” said Bonnie Thomson, Brand Director, AstraZeneca. “We’ve partnered with Sesame Workshop to more effectively reach parents, who often watch ‘Sesame Street’ with their children.” Everydaykidz.com is a free program that provides families living with asthma the support and facts they need in a fun and innovative way. Created with children 1 to 8 years old in mind, the Every daykidz.com Website informsparents and kids about asthma in an interactive, entertaining way, through videos, crafts, games, sto- ries and activities specifically designed to help asthma treatment become a more comfortable part of a child’s daily routine. The program addresses a need for accessible asthma information. Research has shown that many asthmaflare-ups that send kids to the hospital might be prevented if the children and their parents were better educated about asthma, @ (ey | @ 2006 Sesame Workshop. “SesameStreet” and its logo are trademarks of Sesame Workshop.All rights reserved. medications, the need for follow-up care, and the importance of avoiding known asthmatriggers.' “Asthma has a profound effect on millions of children and their families,” said Gary E. Knell, president and CEO of Sesame Workshop. “We are proud to part- ner with AstraZeneca to create first-class educational materials that parents and kids can share, enjoy and use to improve their health and their lives.” The Everydaykidz.com/Sesame Workshop partnership complements Sesame Workshop’s companywideinitiative, “Healthy Habits for Life.” The partnership was forged as a result of a shared vision to help inform parents of children with asthma or asthmalike symptoms about waysto better managetheir child’s condition. Throughout the course of the part- nership, a variety of “Sesame Street” signposts—sponsorship tags on “Sesame Street” episodes, banner ads on the “Sesame Street” Web site (www.sesamestreet.com) and advertisements in Sesame Street Magazine—will guide parents to Everydaykidz.com to learn more about their child’s asthma and how to help manageit. About Childhood Asthma According to the American Lung Association, asthma currently affects an estimated 6.2 million children under 18, and of those, 4 million suffered from a severe asthma attack in 2003.’ In the previous year, more than 600,000 children under 15 visited emergency rooms because of their asthma.’ Morerecent studies show many parents think their children’s asthmais well controlled? when it really may not be. In addition, an American Lung Association study found that more than half of parents of asthmatic children don’t understand the causes of asthma symptoms’, which may explain why they do not use a daily controller treatment. Asthma is characterized by excessive sensitivity of the lungs to various stimuli. It can betriggered by smoke, airborne molds, pollens, dust, animal dander, exercise, cold air, many household and industrial products, air pollut- ants, scents or stress.’ For more information, visit www.everydaykidz.com. 1 Flores G, Abreu M, Tomany-Korman, et al. Keeping children with asthma out of hospitals: parents and physician’s perspectives on how pediatric asthma hospitalizations can be prevented. Pediatrics 2005;116:957-965. 2 American Lung Association. Asthma and Children Fact Sheet. Available at: http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp. asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=44352. Accessed 3/9/06 3 Asthma Action America. Children & Asthma in America. Available at: http://www.asthmainamerica.com/children_index.html. Accessed 3/10/06
