The Pediatric Prevention Research Center, a Division of the Department of Pediatrics at Wayne State University (WSU), is a multidsicplinary group of faculty with a focus on behavioral interventions to reduce pediatric health disparities nationally and internationally. These efforts have included a focus on NHLBI diseases such as obesity and asthma in African American youth. Asthma exerts a high toll on minority children living in inner-city communities, especially adolescents. African-American adolescents not only have higher rates of asthma, but also experience more emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and fatalities from asthma than Caucasian adolescents. One factor that can account for mortality/morbidity in pediatric asthma is poor asthma management. Recently, several faculty have utilized technology to develop behavioral interventions to improve illness management for youth with HIV and diabetes. This RFA will allow Dr. Karen Kolmodin to transition to independent faculty status by September 1 with a focus on expanding technology based behavioral interventions to youth with asthma. This RFA fills a critical need to train the next generation of pediatric health disparity researchers. WSU is in a unique position to fill this need as we are located in Detroit, a city with the highest percentage of African Americans of major U.S. city (Census, 2000). The proposal has the potential to pave the way for continued hiring of workers in new technology based areas that are diversified from the beleaguered automotive industry as pilot projects give way to larger extramurally funded proposals. This proposal will create a synergy between a researcher transitioning to independent tenure-track faculty status and a division focused on reducing pediatric health disparities (""""""""CORE CENTER"""""""") to move the health disparities field fonward in the area of technology-based behavioral interventions to improve asthma management among minority adolescents and young adults. This proposal will create a synergy between a researcher transitioning to independent tenure-track faculty status and a division focused on reducing pediatric health disparities (""""""""CORE CENTER"""""""") to move the health disparities field fon/vard in the area of technology-based behavioral interventions to improve asthma management among minority adolescents and young adults.
