 |
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
|
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Saira J. Malik, MPH1, Louise M. Ryan, PhD2, Bruce Kennedy, EdD3, Bruce E. Smith3, and Rosalind J. Wright, MD, MPH1. (1) Channing Laboratory, Brigham & Women's Hospital, 181 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, 617-525-0082, saira.malik@channing.harvard.edu, (2) Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, 655 Huntington Avenue, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02115, (3) Division of Public Health Practice, Harvard School of Public Health, 1552 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02120
The goal of this longitudinal research project is to assess the role of stress in-utero on childhood asthma in an urban, community health center population. Asthma is a widespread childhood disease which affects nonwhite children disproportionately, especially those living in poverty and in urban areas. Despite the growing body of knowledge on treatment and environmental risk factors, this burden persists. Stress is known to affect the immune system and pregnancy outcomes, and research suggests that it may affect the onset of asthmatic events. The effects of direct experience and exposure to violence have not been well explored for physical outcomes. This project will measure individual stressors and resources from the pregnant women, in conjunction with community-level assessments of environmental risk factors, crime, and social capital for a multi-level perspective on chronic stressors that may have cumulative effects on the mother, and therefore impact the child’s health. Collaborating with community health centers not only allows the research team to tap into neighborhood knowledge and perceptions of asthma, stress and violence, but gives the centers an opportunity to expand the abilities to examine research questions and support more advanced data management systems.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Stress, Asthma
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.