title: Increasing asthma knowledge and changing home environments for Latino families with asthmatic children.
abstract: We tested an asthma education program in 204 underserved Latino families with an asthmatic child. The education program consisted of one or two sessions delivered in each family's home in the targeted participant's preferred language by a bilingual, bicultural educator. We encouraged, but did not require, attendance by the child. The curriculum was culturally-tailored, and all participants received education on understanding asthma, preventing asthma attacks, and managing asthma. Outcomes included change in asthma knowledge and change in home environment asthma management procedures. Asthma knowledge increased significantly (39 to 50% correct from pre- to post-test, P < 0.001) and participants made significant changes to the child's bedroom environment (mean number of triggers decreased from 2.4 to 1.8, P < 0.001; mean number of controllers increased from 0.7 to 0.9, P < 0.001). The results support the value of asthma education and its importance in the national agenda to reduce health disparities among minorities.
authors.affiliation: Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Wahlgren
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Meltzer
authors.forename: E O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Meltzer
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Hovell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000628:therapy*; D002140:California; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D011380:Programmed Instructions as Topic; D012931:Social Environment; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric