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A multi-factorial model for examining racial and ethnic disparities in acute asthma visits by children

Kimberly Sidora-Arcoleo1, Jonathan M Feldman, Denise Serebrisky

  • 1Ohio State University College of Nursing, 1595 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. Arcoleo.1@osu.edu

Annals of Behavioral Medicine : a Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
|December 14, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Parental understanding of asthma significantly impacts children's emergency visits, with ethnic differences playing a key role in these health disparities.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health Outcomes
  • Health Disparities Research
  • Social Determinants of Health

Background:

  • Children's asthma health disparities are complex and multifactorial.
  • Parental illness representations (beliefs and perceptions about asthma) may contribute to these disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test a theoretical model examining ethnic disparities in children's acute asthma visits.
  • To investigate the role of parental asthma illness representations within this model.

Main Methods:

  • Structural equation modeling was used to analyze data from 309 families of diverse ethnic backgrounds (White, Puerto Rican, African American).
  • The study assessed associations between parental illness representations, sociodemographic factors, healthcare provider influences, and social-environmental context with children's acute asthma visits.

Main Results:

  • Parental illness representations explained significant variance in acute asthma visits, particularly for African American and Puerto Rican children.
  • Ethnic groups showed statistically significant differences in their asthma illness representations.
  • The model accounted for over 30% of the variance in acute visits for minority groups, compared to 19% for White families.

Conclusions:

  • Ethnic variations in parental asthma illness representations appear to influence children's asthma health outcomes.
  • The findings suggest that addressing parental beliefs about asthma is crucial for reducing ethnic disparities in pediatric asthma care.
Abstract

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