Creating a Low Allergen Environment
In-Home and In-Schools of Asthmatic Children:
Education and Management
Cleveland Moore, MD, Principal Investigator
Paulina Rojas, MD
Michelle Larzelere, PhD
John Estrada, MD
Donald Mercante, PhD
Abstract
This project is designed to assess the effectiveness of in-home and in-school education
and management to identify and mitigate indoor triggers to which asthmatic children
may be sensitive. The pilot project is built upon an existing school-based asthma
management program that is being conducted by the application organization in inner
city New Orleans. The target population is composed primarily of low-income African
American children. Environmental assessment, allergen burden, and exposure to tobacco
will be determined in thirty homes and seven schools by inspections, and immunoassays
for allergen quantification. Children will be skin tested for allergens, and their
urine analyzed for cotinine. Interventions will focus on behavior modification and
mitigation to reduce indoor asthma triggers. Two mitigation strategies will be compared:
Education and provision of an allergen control kit vs. education, provision of an
allergen control kit plus professional pest control and cleaning demonstrations. Measurable
outcomes include clinical, humanistic, behavioral, and environmental. In addition,
the project aims to identify both facilitators and barriers to families and school
personnel to improving their indoor environments.
The applicant, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, is partnering with
the following institutions: Tulane University Department of Environmental Health Sciences,
The American Lung Association, the Tulane/LSU Clinical Research Center, and the School
of Social Work at Southern University of New Orleans, an historically Black college.
Collaboration:
Faye Grimsley, PhD, Tulane University
Essie Perry, MSW, Southern University of New Orleans
Tulane/LSUHSC General Clinical Research Center
American Lung Association of Louisiana
Sponsor: Environmental Protection Agency
Duration: 11/02 - 11/04