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Contributing to AAI Wiki

Welcome to the AAI Wiki! We're building a community-driven clinical reference for allergy, asthma, and immunology healthcare professionals. Your contributions help improve patient care.

Who Can Contribute?​

We welcome contributions from:

  • Allergists and Immunologists - Board-certified or in practice
  • Fellows in Training - AAI fellowship programs
  • Pediatricians - Managing allergic conditions
  • Advanced Practice Providers - NPs, PAs specializing in AAI
  • Residents and Medical Students - With faculty review
  • Other Healthcare Professionals - Pharmacists, respiratory therapists, etc.
  • Anyone - For typos, broken links, and technical improvements

Types of Contributions​

Quick Fixes​

  • Fix typos or grammatical errors
  • Correct broken links
  • Update outdated information
  • Clarify confusing language

How: Click "Edit this page" at the bottom of any article → Make changes → Submit

Content Updates​

  • Update articles based on new guidelines (e.g., GINA 2024)
  • Add recent evidence or studies
  • Expand existing articles with missing information
  • Update drug dosing or treatment algorithms

New Articles​

  • Write comprehensive articles on AAI topics
  • Create clinical protocols or management guides
  • Add procedure descriptions or techniques
  • Contribute educational resources

Technical Improvements​

  • Improve site performance or accessibility
  • Fix bugs in React components
  • Enhance mobile responsiveness
  • Add new features

Getting Started​

Option A: Easy Web-Based Editing​

Perfect for quick fixes and small updates.

  1. Navigate to the article you want to edit
  2. Click "Edit this page" at the bottom (opens GitHub editor)
  3. Make your changes in the web editor
  4. Preview your changes (optional)
  5. Describe your changes in the commit message
  6. Choose "Create a new branch and start a pull request"
  7. Click "Propose changes"
  8. Wait for review - A maintainer will review and merge

Option B: Local Development​

For new articles or significant updates.

Prerequisites​

# Install Node.js 18+ (if not already installed)
# On Fedora:
sudo dnf install nodejs

# Verify
node --version  # Should be 18.0.0+
npm --version

Setup Process​

  1. Fork the repository

    • Go to the GitHub repository
    • Click "Fork" (top right)

  2. Clone your fork

    git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/aai-wiki.git
    cd aai-wiki/website

  3. Install dependencies

    npm install

  4. Create a branch

    git checkout -b article/acute-asthma-exacerbation
    # Or: fix/typo-in-overview
    # Or: update/gina-2024-guidelines

  5. Start development server

    npm start
    # Opens http://localhost:3000
    # Auto-reloads when you save changes

  6. Make your changes

    • Edit files in docs/ folder
    • Use .mdx extension for Markdown files
    • See Style Guide for formatting

  7. Test your changes

    # Build the site (checks for errors)
    npm run build

    # Serve the built site
    npm run serve

  8. Commit and push

    git add docs/asthma/acute-exacerbation.mdx
    git commit -m "Add acute asthma exacerbation article"
    git push origin article/acute-asthma-exacerbation

  9. Create a pull request

    • Go to your fork on GitHub
    • Click "Contribute" → "Open pull request"
    • Fill out the PR template
    • Click "Create pull request"

Content Guidelines​

Evidence-Based Medicine​

All clinical content must be:

  1. Evidence-based - Cite guidelines, systematic reviews, or RCTs
  2. Current - Use the most recent guidelines (e.g., GINA 2024)
  3. Unbiased - No promotional content for drugs, devices, or companies
  4. Balanced - Present controversies fairly when expert opinion differs

Preferred Sources​

In order of preference:

  1. Major guidelines

    • GINA (Global Initiative for Asthma)
    • PRACTALL (Practical Allergy)
    • AAAAI/ACAAI Joint Task Force reports
    • EAACI (European Academy of Allergy)
    • WAO (World Allergy Organization)

  2. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses

    • Cochrane reviews
    • High-quality meta-analyses

  3. Randomized controlled trials

    • Published in peer-reviewed journals

  4. Expert consensus statements

    • When high-quality evidence is lacking

Citations​

Inline citation example:

According to [GINA 2024](https://ginasthma.org), first-line treatment includes...

References section:

## References

- [GINA 2024 Guidelines](https://ginasthma.org/reports/)
- [NAEPP Expert Panel Report 4](https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/asthma)

Review Process​

What Happens After You Submit?​

  1. Automated checks run (~2 min)

    • Build succeeds (no errors)
    • Preview deployment created

  2. Maintainer reviews (1-7 days)

    • Checks for obvious issues
    • Assigns expert reviewer if needed
    • May request changes

  3. Expert review (if applicable)

    • Clinical accuracy verified
    • Evidence quality assessed
    • May suggest improvements

  4. Discussion (if controversial)

    • GitHub Discussions thread created
    • Community weighs in
    • Consensus documented

  5. Approval and merge

    • PR approved by reviewer(s)
    • Merged by maintainer
    • Auto-deploys to site (~5 min)

Response Times​

  • Quick fixes (typos): Usually merged within 24 hours
  • Content updates: 1-7 days (needs expert review)
  • New articles: 1-2 weeks (thorough review)
  • Controversial topics: May take longer (discussion needed)

We're all volunteers - thank you for your patience!

Community Guidelines​

Expected Behavior​

  • Be respectful and professional
  • Assume good faith
  • Provide constructive feedback
  • Debate ideas, not people
  • Follow medical ethics
  • Disclose conflicts of interest
  • Use inclusive language

Unacceptable Behavior​

  • Harassment or discrimination
  • Personal attacks or insults
  • Promoting unproven treatments
  • Plagiarism or copyright violation
  • Sharing patient information (HIPAA)

Clinical Debates​

Disagreement is expected in medicine - we welcome respectful debate!

For controversial topics:

  • Focus on evidence quality
  • Cite sources for your position
  • Acknowledge uncertainty when appropriate
  • Respect differing expert opinions
  • Document consensus OR note ongoing controversy

Getting Help​

Questions About Content​

  • Open a GitHub Discussion
  • Tag as "Content Question"

Technical Issues​

  • Open a GitHub Issue
  • Include error messages and steps to reproduce

General Questions​

  • Check existing issues/discussions first
  • Contact project maintainers

Recognition​

We value all contributions! Ways we recognize contributors:

  • Commit history - Your GitHub username permanently in git log
  • Contributors page - Optional listing on website
  • Article attribution - "Contributed by" at bottom of articles you write
  • Reviewer credits - Recognition for expert reviews

Our Contributors​

All contributors to AAI Wiki are listed below. Thank you for making this resource possible!

How the Contributors List Works​

Once our GitHub repository is public, this section will display:

  • All contributors who have made commits to the repository
  • Contribution statistics showing the number of commits
  • Profile links to each contributor's GitHub profile
  • Automatic updates as new contributors join

The list uses GitHub's built-in contributors API, which automatically tracks:

  • Code contributions (new features, bug fixes)
  • Content contributions (new articles, updates)
  • Documentation improvements
  • Review and feedback

Displaying Contributors​

To manually display contributors on any page, you can use GitHub's contributors widget:

<!-- This will be implemented after GitHub repository is created -->
<a href="https://github.com/yourusername/aai-wiki/graphs/contributors">
  <img src="https://contrib.rocks/image?repo=yourusername/aai-wiki" />
</a>

This generates a visual grid of all contributor avatars with links to their profiles.

Top Contributors​

We'll also highlight top contributors based on:

  • Number of commits
  • Lines of code/content added
  • Review participation
  • Community engagement

Coming soon: Dedicated contributors page with detailed statistics and recognition.

License​

By contributing to AAI Wiki, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This means:

  • Your work will be freely available
  • Others can adapt your work (with attribution)
  • Derivative works must use the same license
  • You retain copyright of your original work

Thank You!​

Your contributions improve clinical care for patients with allergic and immunologic conditions. Every typo fix, citation update, and new article makes a difference.

Welcome to the community!