The Asthma and Allergy workgroup first began in 2005 as the State Environmental Health Indicators Collaborative (SEHIC) Asthma workgroup with the purpose of developing and pilot-testing chronic respiratory disease-related indicators of population health that are known to be related to environmental conditions. These include asthma hospitalizations, asthma emergency department visits, and chronic lower respiratory disease mortality. More recently, the workgroup has been interested in aeroallergens, such as pollen and mold, and its relationship to respiratory conditions, such as asthma, in the United States. The workgroup developed a set of indicators to track pollen season timing, pollen concentration and pollen type (e.g. oak, birch, maple pollen). Since the first Pollen Summit in May 2015, the workgroup has been focusing its efforts on the development of a national aeroallergen monitoring network. The second Pollen Summit was held in February 2016 in Atlanta, GA. The goals of this Summit were to:

• Share the latest research regarding the many faces of pollen, including its interconnectedness to health, climate, food security, and adaptation efforts
• Develop the specifications for a national pollen monitoring network
• Finalize a CSTE position statement in support of a national pollen monitoring network
• Develop a strategic plan for the promotion, education, advocacy and funding needed to implement the monitoring network
• Provide networking opportunities

• Pollen White Paper: Does Available Scientific Evidence Support the Inclusion of Pollen as a Nationally Consistent Data and Measure Indicator on the Environmental Public Health Tracking Network?
• Webinar: Pollen Seasonality – A Methodology to Assess the Timing of Pollen Seasons Throughout the US (recording is available in the CSTE Webinar Library)
• Poster Presentation: Analysis of 2009 Pollen Readings in Atlanta, GA, Baltimore, MD and Madison, WI
• Poster Presentation: Evaluation of American and European Pollen Data Sources to Identify Essential Attributes of a New National Pollen Surveillance System in the United States

• United States Global Change Research Program Climate & Health Assessment
• The Relation of Stroke Admissions to Recent Weather, Airborne Allergens, Air Pollution, Seasons, Upper Respiratory Infections, and Asthma Incidence, September 11, 2001 and Day of the Week
• Pollen Overload Seasonal Allergies in a Changing Climate
• The National Allergy Bureau: Pollen and spore reporting today
• The Associations between Daily Spring Pollen Counts, Over-the-Counter Allergy Medication Sales, and Asthma Syndrome Emergency Department Visits in New York City, 2002-2012