Asthma affects approximately 6 million American children (President's task force, 2000) and is the most common cause of school absences and the second leading cause of pediatric emergency room visits (Clark, 1998). Indoor environmental allergens contribute substantially to childhood asthma morbidity. Eggleston (2000) reported in his review of the National Cooperative Inner City Asthma Study, that children with sensitivity to indoor allergens, such as cockroach, had more asthma attacks and ER visits. Indoor environmental allergens such as cockroaches, dust mites, mold, pet dander, tobacco smoke and other agents can be effectively controlled and have been linked to a reduction in asthma symptoms (Kreiger et al., 2000). Recently, a study has been published that examined the effect of rodent allergen in inner city children with asthma (Phipatanakul et al., 2000). Rodent allergen had previously been implicated as an asthma trigger in occupational health settings but had not been the subject of study in indoor environments for children with asthma. The proposed research plan targets rodent allergen in Latino children with asthma residing in Los Angeles.
The specific aims of the research plan are to: 1. Determine the presence of rodent allergen and examine the correlation between self-reported appearance of rodents and detectable rodent allergen levels in inner city homes in LA; 2. Examine the relationship between rodent allergen concentration, sensitization and asthma quality of life in Los Angeles inner-city Latino children with asthma; 3. Determine the effect of a standard rodent eradication protocol on levels of rodent allergen in the home and 4. Explore cultural and environmental barriers to effective rodent eradication in Latino inner city families with a child with asthma. To accomplish these aims, the applicant seeks further training in environmental allergen assessment for children with asthma. This is a natural extension of the applicant's background in nursing, asthma and behavioral science. The training portion of this application is designed to provide solid theoretical foundation, environmental allergen particle measurement skills, cultural competency skills related to influencing adherence to environmental changes and statistical knowledge to prepare the candidate for a research career in the area of environmental allergen exposure for Latino families with a child with asthma. The candidate's prior studies focused on asthma and adherence among non- Latino adults. Latinos are the most rapidly growing ethnic group in the nation and the candidate's long-term research plans target asthma intervention in this impoverished, underserved and vulnerable population.
| Kueny, Angela; Berg, Jill; Chowdhury, Yasmin et al. (2013) Poquito a poquito: how Latino families with children who have asthma make changes in their home. J Pediatr Health Care 27:e1-11 |
| Berg, Jill; McConnell, Rob; Milam, Joel et al. (2008) Rodent allergen in Los Angeles inner city homes of children with asthma. J Urban Health 85:52-61 |
