Disparities in Asthma Care, Management, and Education Among Children With Asthma.

Health disparities are pervasive in the United States. Health and health care disparities are the differences or gaps in health (eg, life expectancy, morbidity, risk factors, and quality of life) and health care access and quality between segments of the United States population as related to race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (eg, income, education). Multiple factors are associated with such disparities in asthma management and education. This article explores some of those factors and summarizes the strategies developed and interventions implemented to address disparities associated with asthma care and education among racial and ethnic minority children. It also discusses the need for further research to identify effective asthma education approaches for improving the management of asthma among racial and ethnic minority children. More exploration of the root causes of health care disparities, including policy studies in the area of social determinates of health and health equity, is also needed.

Barriers to asthma management among urban families: caregiver and child perspectives.

OBJECTIVE: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. Those particularly affected are young, poor, African American children. Moreover, rates of emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and mortality are substantially higher for black children. Despite the ample published research on asthma prevalence and asthma management interventions, there is little research available on barriers to asthma care among urban, low-income families as perceived by children with asthma and their caregivers. METHODS: This qualitative study analyzed data from five focus groups conducted with 28 participants in metropolitan Atlanta. RESULTS: This study found caregiver and child health beliefs and perceptions concerning the use of daily controller medications to be a significant barrier to asthma care and proper self-management at home and at school. Barriers to environmental control consisted mostly of financial constraints, which made residential environmental remediation activities difficult to implement. Psychological distress was prevalent among both children and caregivers, which demonstrated the burden associated with managing a chronic illness. CONCLUSION: Families in urban, low-income communities require asthma management interventions tailored to their specific characteristics, barriers, and challenges. Our findings can be used to inform and enhance asthma management interventions for urban families with children with asthma.