Cumulative Risks and Asthma Morbidity in Urban Children

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DESCRIPTION: (provided by applicant) Asthma is a childhood chronic illness that is over-represented in children from low income, urban, and ethnic minority backgrounds in the U.S. (USDHHS, 2000). The steady increase in asthma morbidity and mortality rates among children within this demographic profile has been identified as a significant national health concern. A major research priority for NIH is to understand how to decrease the health disparities between ethnic minority, low-income children and their healthier, white counterparts. The present study will examine the relationship between the cumulative impact of multiple risks associated with urban poverty and asthma morbidity in African-American, Hispanic, and non- Hispanic, white children (N= 150, 50 families in each ethnic group). Specifically, the development and validation of a Cumulative Risk Index (CRI) will be employed to investigate whether asthma morbidity in urban children is more adequately predicted by risk models that include multiple dimensions of factors that may function as risks (cultural, contextual, asthma-specific) for urban families. Urban and low-income, 7-11 year old children with asthma and their primary caregivers will participate in interview-based assessments. The current study will be integrated into an NIH funded Center for Asthma Disparities (U01-HIO72438-01; Principal Investigator Gregory Fritz) at Brown Medical School. Results from this study will enable future studies testing moderators that may enhance asthma-related functioning in urban children.