Evaluation of Community Action Against Asthma: a community health worker intervention to improve children's asthma-related health by reducing household environmental triggers for asthma.
This article describes the evaluation of a community-based participatory research (CBPR) community health worker (CHW) intervention to improve children's asthma-related health by reducing household environmental triggers for asthma. After randomization to an intervention or control group, 298 households in Detroit, Michigan, with a child, aged 7 to 11, with persistent asthma symptoms participated. The intervention was effective in increasing some of the measures of lung function (daily nadir Forced Expiratory Volume at one second [p = .03] and daily nadir Peak Flow [p = .02]), reducing the frequency of two symptoms ("cough that won't go away," "coughing with exercise"), reducing the proportion of children requiring unscheduled medical visits and reporting inadequate use of asthma controller medication, reducing caregiver report of depressive symptoms, reducing concentrations of dog allergen in the dust, and increasing some behaviors related to reducing indoor environmental triggers. The results suggest a CHW environmental intervention can improve children's asthma-related health, although the pathway for improvement is complex.
Parker
Edith A
EA
School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA. edithp@umich.edu
Israel
Barbara A
BA
Robins
Thomas G
TG
Mentz
Graciela
G
Xihong Lin
Brakefield-Caldwell
Wilma
W
Ramirez
Erminia
E
Edgren
Katherine K
KK
Salinas
Maria
M
Lewis
Toby C
TC
D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor; D001249:Asthma / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D003150:Community Health Workers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003256:Community Participation / Q000379:methods*; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012882:Skin Tests; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors