The school inner-city asthma study: design, methods, and lessons learned

Phipatanakul, W; Bailey, A; Hoffman, EB; Sheehan, WJ; Lane, JP; Baxi, S; Rao, D; Permaul, P; Gaffin, JM; Rogers, CA; Muilenberg, ML; Gold, DR

HERO ID

1074005

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year

2011

Language

English

PMID

22010992

HERO ID 1074005
In Press No
Year 2011
Title The school inner-city asthma study: design, methods, and lessons learned
Authors Phipatanakul, W; Bailey, A; Hoffman, EB; Sheehan, WJ; Lane, JP; Baxi, S; Rao, D; Permaul, P; Gaffin, JM; Rogers, CA; Muilenberg, ML; Gold, DR
Journal Journal of Asthma
Volume 48
Issue 10
Page Numbers 1007-1014
Abstract <strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Children spend a significant amount of time in school. Little is known about the role of allergen exposure in school environments and asthma morbidity.<br /><br /><strong>OBJECTIVES: </strong>The School Inner-City Asthma Study (SICAS) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded prospective study evaluating the school/classroom-specific risk factors and asthma morbidity among urban children.<br /><br /><strong>METHODS/RESULTS: </strong>This article describes the design, methods, and important lessons learned from this extensive investigation. A single center is recruiting 500 elementary school-aged children, all of whom attend inner-city metropolitan schools. The primary hypothesis is that exposure to common indoor allergens in the classroom will increase the risk of asthma morbidity in children with asthma, even after controlling for home allergen exposures. The protocol includes screening surveys of entire schools and baseline eligibility assessments obtained in the spring prior to the academic year. Extensive baseline clinical visits are being conducted among eligible children with asthma during the summer prior to the academic school year. Environmental classroom/school assessments including settled dust and air sampling for allergen, mold, air pollution, and inspection data are collected twice during the academic school year and one home dust sample linked to the enrolled student. Clinical outcomes are measured every 3 months during the academic school year.<br /><br /><strong>CONCLUSION: </strong>The overall goal of SICAS is to complete the first study of its kind to better understand school-specific urban environmental factors on childhood asthma morbidity. We also discuss the unique challenges related to school-based urban research and lessons being learned from recruiting such a cohort.
Doi 10.3109/02770903.2011.624235
Pmid 22010992
Wosid WOS:000297169000005
Is Certified Translation No
Dupe Override No
Is Public Yes
Language Text English
Keyword asthma; inner-city; school
Is Qa No