Dr. Marcella R. Aquino, an allergist and immunologist at Hasbro Children’s and Rhode Island hospitals, is leading a two-year study titled “Multi-level Contributing Factors to Ethnic and Racial Disparities in Urban Children with Asthma and Atopic Dermatitis.”
Aquino discusses details of the project, which is funded by a grant from the Allergists’ Foundation.
PBN: How many children are you hoping to enroll in this research study, when does it begin and how long will it last?
AQUINO: The goal of the study is to examine asthma and eczema outcomes in urban children of Caucasian, African American and LatinX descent. We plan to enroll 60 children between 7 to 12 years of age with both asthma and atopic dermatitis – eczema – who live in the Greater Providence area, with a goal of equal number of Caucasian, LatinX and African American children. Study enrollment has recently started, and we hope to complete enrollment in the next 18 to 24 months. Each participant will be involved in the study for a total of two weeks.
PBN: Have there been previous links found between outcomes in eczema or asthma and ethnicity or race?
AQUINO: Yes, research shows Latinx and African American children have higher morbidity and asthma prevalence compared to their non-Latino White counterparts. This is in part due to socio-contextual risk factors – for example, neighborhood stressors, communication barriers, health literacy, fewer specialist care referrals, transportation difficulties. Similarly, African American and LatinX children have disproportionate rates of severe and persistent atopic dermatitis than their non-Latino White peers.
PBN: How will the data you collect be analyzed?
AQUINO: We will enter de-identified results of surveys, lung function, demographics and qualitative data from in-depth interviews into a database and then examine the association between race/ethnicity and behavioral and clinical factors associated with asthma and eczema outcomes.
PBN: Once the study is complete, what will you do with your findings?
AQUINO: Our plan for disseminating the project outcomes and proposed interventions includes local and national conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications. By understanding how children with asthma are further affected by atopic dermatitis and how differences in ethnicity may further affect both asthma and atopic dermatitis outcomes, we hope to provide individualized care that addressees barriers to care.
PBN: Is there anything that you suspect you will find through the study?
AQUINO: Yes, we expect the study to show that factors such as a higher quality of life for children will relate to better outcomes with their asthma and eczema, regardless of race or ethnicity. But we believe that urban minority children with asthma and eczema who have poorer behavioral and clinical factors will experience poorer outcomes with their asthma and eczema.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN contributing writer.
