Racial/ethnic differences in pediatric asthma management: the importance of asthma knowledge, symptom assessment, and family-provider collaboration.

BACKGROUND: Asthma disproportionately impacts youth from marginalized minority backgrounds. Aspects of core asthma management (asthma management and medication beliefs) were examined among a cohort of diverse families. METHODS: Caregiver-youth dyads (N = 92; Mage= 13.8 years; non-Hispanic/Latinx White (NLW) = 40%; Black/African-American = 25%; Hispanic/Latinx= 35%) completed a medication beliefs questionnaire (Medication Necessity, Medication Concerns) and a semi-structured interview (Family Asthma Management System Scale (FAMSS)). FAMSS subscales (Asthma Knowledge, Symptom Assessment, Family Response to Symptoms, Child Response to Symptoms, Environmental Control, Medication Adherence, Family-Provider Collaboration, and Balanced Integration) were used for analyses. RESULTS: More Hispanic/Latinx families were at or below the poverty line (75%) relative to NLW (22%) and Black/African-American (39%) families (p < 0.001). Adherence (p < 0.01), Knowledge (p < 0.001), and Symptom Assessment (p < 0.01) were higher for NLW relative to Black/African-American families. Collaboration was higher among NLW (p = 0.01) and Hispanic/Latinx families (p = 0.05). Effect sizes were moderate (η2= 0.10-0.12). Parental race/ethnicity moderated the relationship between adherence and parental perceived medication concern and necessity for NLW and Hispanic/Latinx families. As medication concerns increased, medication adherence decreased, however, only for NLW and Hispanic/Latinx families. CONCLUSIONS: In this sample, racial/ethnic differences emerged for elements of asthma management. Interview-based ratings of asthma management among Black/African-American families depicted lower asthma knowledge, lower levels of family-provider collaboration, and lower medication adherence. The relationship between medication concerns and adherence appeared to differ by ethnic group. Future research is needed to elucidate cultural factors that influence family-provider relationships and health-related behaviors, like medication use/adherence.

The Brief Situational Confidence Questionnaire for alcohol: A psychometric assessment with incarcerated youth.

The factor structure, measurement invariance, validity, reliability, and stability of scores on the Brief Situational Confidence Questionnaire (BSCQ) were evaluated for use with incarcerated youth. The BSCQ is an 8-item measure that assesses self-efficacy to resist alcohol use in tempting situations. The brevity of the measure may make it a useful tool for clinicians and researchers in a forensic setting. Analyses were conducted with 2 separate samples (N = 205 and N = 189) of incarcerated youth (M age = 16.90 and 17.12 years, respectively; 88% and 86% male). Based on prior theory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs), results indicated that a correlated 2-factor model best fit the data. Multisample CFAs suggested that BSCQ scores demonstrated configural and metric invariance across our 2 samples. Further, the BSCQ scores demonstrated sufficient test-retest stability in Samples 1 and 2 (Pearson's r = .66, .55) and internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .84 and .86, respectively). Negative binomial regressions showed that the overall BSCQ scores were significantly associated with concurrent alcohol use (number of drinking days, number of heavy drinking days, average drinks per week) and significantly predicted future alcohol use. Scores on the BSCQ demonstrated sufficient stability, internal consistency, and validity, and the 2-factor structure was largely invariant across 2 separate samples of incarcerated youth. Given its brevity, the BSCQ may provide valid and reliable scores to use with this population when time and resources are scarce. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Application of a kNN-based similarity method to biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

Machine learning-based similarity analysis is commonly found in many artificial intelligence applications like the one utilized in e-commerce and digital marketing. In this study, a kNN-based (k-nearest neighbors) similarity method is proposed for rapid biopharmaceutical process diagnosis and process performance monitoring. Our proposed application measures the spatial distance between batches, identifies the most similar historical batches, and ranks them in order of similarity. The proposed method considers the similarity in both multivariate and univariate feature spaces and measures batch deviations to a benchmarking batch. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method are tested on a drug manufacturing process at Biogen.

Racial and ethnic disparities in sleep outcomes among urban children with and without asthma.

BACKGROUND: Suboptimal sleep has been documented in at-risk groups such as urban minority children, particularly those with asthma. It is therefore critical to examine differences in sleep outcomes across specific racial and ethnic groups and to identify factors that contribute to such variations in sleep outcomes to inform tailored interventions to improve sleep health. OBJECTIVES: The objectives were to examine racial/ethnic differences in sleep outcomes among urban children with and without asthma and to evaluate the extent to which asthma status and aspects of sleep hygiene and the sleep environment contribute to racial/ethnic differences in sleep outcomes in this sample. METHODS: Two hundred and sixteen African American, Latino, or non-Latino white (NLW) urban children, ages 7-9 years, with (n = 216) and without asthma (n = 130) and their primary caregivers were included. Objective sleep duration and efficiency were assessed via actigraphy. Asthma status was assessed by a study clinician. Caregiver-reported sleep hygiene and exposure to noise were assessed using a questionnaire. RESULTS: Minority children in the sample had, on average, shorter sleep duration compared to NLW children during the monitoring period (mean difference Latino vs NLW = -22.10, SE = 5.02; mean difference AA vs NLW = -18.69, SE = 5.28) Additionally, several racial/ethnic group differences in sleep outcomes emerged and were dependent on whether or not children had asthma. Specifically, Latinos had lower mean number of awakenings compared to NLWs but only among control participants with no asthma. Furthermore, specific aspects of sleep hygiene and exposure to nighttime noise in the home and neighborhood contributed to racial/ethnic differences in sleep outcomes. CONCLUSION: Considering urban stressors and asthma status when treating pediatric populations is important, as factors related to urban stress and asthma management may influence sleep hygiene practices and sleep outcomes.