About CARAT

The CARAT was originally developed as a research tool for the NIH-funded National Cooperative Inner-City Asthma Study (NCICAS).  The tool was used to create patient-specific asthma counseling plans for participants in the NCICAS study.  Since then, the CARAT, and a related Environmental Risk Assessment Tool (ERAT), have been used in several large, multi-site, research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health.  In the early 2000s, the CARAT was made available online as a freely-accessible tool for anyone to use.

In 2012, the CARAT and ERAT were used in the Community Healthcare for Asthma Management and the Prevention of Symptoms study, which was funded by the Merck Childhood Asthma Network (MCAN), a 501(c)3 organization.  Following completion of the CHAMPS project, MCAN provided additional funds to update and relaunch the CARAT website via the AsthmaCommunityNetwork.org website.  Updates include: the incorporation of a home evaluation module, the ability to download/upload assessment data, and a modern user interface.

Additional information about previous studies can be found on the AsthmaCommunityNetwork website:

• National Cooperative Inner-City Asthma Study (NCICAS)
• Inner City Asthma Study (ICAS)
• Community Healthcare for Asthma Management and the Prevention of Symptoms (CHAMPS)