Chronic illness care in Russia: a pilot project to improve asthma care in a "closed city".

Context: In Russia, where health status has deteriorated since the late 1960s, asthma is a growing medical and public health problem.

Objective: To create a model for improving care and outcomes of patients with asthma through altering the culture of health care, physician behavior, and public policy in a Russian community.

Design: A 6-month, nonrandomized, before-and-after intervention evaluation.