Faculty Diversity Supplement Project Abstract Teens (ages 13-18) with asthma experience higher rates of asthma prevalence when compared with younger children. Teens present more often with poor asthma management behaviors and greater health care utilization for asthma. Latino youth experience greater asthma morbidity when compared with Non-Latino White and Black children. Additionally, for youth with asthma academic performance may be challenged by the complexity of managing asthma. During adolescence, teens become increasingly responsible for managing their asthma. During this time, asthma management skills become solidified and teens are expected to transition to adult healthcare. There is a need to identify supportive resources to enhance asthma self-management and academic functioning for urban Latino teens with asthma. The parent grant's Peer ASMAS Leadership Program (PAL) can improve teen asthma management, asthma outcomes, academic functioning, and professional goals prior to or during the transition to care process. PAL provides urban Latino HS students with asthma management and professional development training, guided mentorship, and academic support. In the proposed sub-study, we will assess asthma control, asthma self-management indicators, healthcare system factors, and leadership and academic outcomes in urban Latino HS students who participate in PAL. In addition, the proposed Faculty Diversity Supplement will provide Dr. Maria Teresa Coutinho (the candidate) with protected time to further her research skills focusing on enhancing urban minority teens' asthma self-management and academic functioning, and the transition to care process.
The aims are as follows:
AIM 1. To examine the extent to which participation in PAL improves asthma control and asthma self- management (knowledge and self-efficacy) in a sample of urban Latino HS students with asthma (30 per site) in Providence, RI and San Juan, PR.
AIM 2. To examine the extent to which participation in PAL improves Latino HS students' leadership skills, school engagement (e.g. school belongingness) and academic outcomes.
AIM 3. To examine asthma management behaviors (e.g., roles and responsibility of asthma management in the family) and health care system factors (e.g., consistent asthma provider, collaboration with provider) and their relation to asthma control in this sample of urban Latino teens. We also will explore plans for the transition to care in this sample using qualitative and quantitative methods.
There is a need to identify supportive resources to enhance asthma self-management and academic functioning for urban Latino teens with asthma. The parent grant's Peer ASMAS Leadership Program provides urban Latino HS students with asthma management and professional development training, guided mentorship, and academic support. In the proposed sub-study, we will assess asthma control, asthma self-management indicators, healthcare system factors, and leadership and academic outcomes in urban Latino HS students who participate in PAL.
