New Rochelle, NY, November 10, 2015–Significant improvements in frequency of asthma attacks and symptoms, hospitalization rates and acute care visits, quality of life, and asthma knowledge were reported among a largely Hispanic population with a high asthma hospitalization following a home-based approach to educating families that have children with asthma. The design, results, and implications of this study are published in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers . The article is available free to download on the Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology website until December 10, 2015.
In the article "Improving Asthma in Hispanic Families Through a Home-Based Educational Intervention", Genny Carrillo, MD, ScD, MPH, MSPH, School of Public Health, Texas A&M Health Science Center (McAllen) and coauthors from University of North Texas, Health Science Center (Fort Worth), and South Texas College and Rio Grande Regional Hospital (McAllen), report a decrease in overnight hospital stays from 6% to 1% and a drop in the need for a clinic or doctor visit related to problems with asthma from 50% to 31%.
The authors describe an educational intervention targeted to a population near the Texas-Mexico border that is more than 90% Hispanic. Trained community health workers visited participants' homes, providing allergen-proof mattress and pillow covers and information on reducing exposure to asthma triggers.
"As part of an asthma management team, these community health workers can help build individual and community capacity through health education and self-management training," says Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology Editor-in-Chief Mary Cataletto, MD, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook, NY) in the Editorial "Focusing on High-Needs Hispanic Populations with High Prevalence of Asthma".
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About the Journal
Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology is a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal published in print and online. The Journal synthesizes the pulmonary, allergy, and immunology communities in the advancement of the respiratory health of children. The Journal provides comprehensive coverage to further the understanding and optimize the treatment of some of the most common and costly chronic illnesses in children. It includes original translational, clinical, and epidemiologic research; public health, quality improvement, and case control studies; patient education research; and the latest research and standards of care for functional and genetic immune deficiencies and interstitial lung diseases. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery, Breastfeeding Medicine, and Population Health Management. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
