HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:
Guest Access | Sign In via User Name/Password

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Personal Article Archive Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Persky, V. Articles by Scheff, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Persky, V. Articles by Scheff, P.

Chicago Community-Based Asthma Intervention Trial^*

Feasibility of Delivering Peer Education in an Inner-City Population

^* From the Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the Environmental and Occupational Health Science Divisions of the School of Public Health (Dr. Persky, Ms. Coover, Hernandez, Contreras, Slezak, Piorkowski, Mr. Curtis, Ms. Turyk, Drs. Ramakrishnan, and Scheff), University of Illinois at Chicago, and Erie Family Health Center (Dr. Persky, Ms. Hernandez, and Contreras), Chicago, IL.

Correspondence to: Victoria Persky, MD, Epidemiology/Biostatistics and Environmental and Occupational Health Science Division, School of Public Health, University of Chicago, 2121 Taylor St, Room 508, Chicago, IL 60612

The most effective means of educating children with asthma and their families has not been clearly demonstrated in previous studies. Peer education is uniquely suited to the complex problems encountered in underserved populations. The purpose of this study was to show the feasibility of delivering a peer education program for children with asthma and the effect of the program on indoor allergen levels in an inner-city population in Chicago. Overall, the program was well received. Baseline allergen levels were consistent with some previous studies in showing low levels of mite allergens and high levels of cockroach allergens, with 79.6% of samples having levels > 8 U/g. A total of 28.2% of samples had cat allergen levels > 2 µg/g, although only 9.7% of homes had cats, confirming previous reports that cat allergen is ubiquitous. Mold levels were seasonal, with the highest levels in the summer. Results from this study suggest that intervention programs should focus more on elimination of cockroaches than was previously appreciated, while minimizing the use of pesticides, and on identification of the sources of cat allergen. Structural and psychosocial issues in homes need to be addressed in future studies. This study has demonstrated the feasibility of delivering peer education in a inner-city population and highlighted the need for comprehensive intervention strategies addressing complex issues facing underserved neighborhoods.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P.R. Salameh, I. Baldi, P. Brochard, C. Raherison, B. Abi Saleh, and R. Salamon Respiratory symptoms in children and exposure to pesticides Eur. Respir. J., September 1, 2003; 22(3): 507 - 512. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]