An ongoing randomized controlled trial led by Dr. Robin M. Dawson at the University of South Carolina in Columbia is studying how a communication intervention could affect asthma outcomes for rural Latino children. Specifically, Dr. Dawson is interested in how these outcomes might improve with a bilingual mobile app connecting children and their families with school-based nursing programs and primary care providers.
The study is currently recruiting Hispanic/Latino children, ages 5 to 12 years old, who have asthma, use a controller medication, have a Spanish language preference, and attend school in the Lancaster County School District. Study recruitment began on November 17, 2020. The estimated completion date of the study is August 1, 2021.
Participating in the trial is a powerful way to increase clinical trial diversity and contribute to the elimination of health care disparities. Moreover, clinical trial participation allows a child and their family access to some of the best asthma treatments available. The study’s intervention is timely and needed, as the U.S. South has the highest prevalence of asthma and one of the fastest-growing Latino populations in America.
Dr. Dawson believes that this tailored, technology-based intervention has the potential to help these children and their families overcome common challenges in asthma management, including accessibility, communication barriers, medication adherence, and suboptimal technological interventions. A call to action is made for greater inclusion of rural Latino children in clinical trials to rectify asthma health disparities.
For more information about the study and how to participate, contact Latoya Newton ((803) 576-7276, newtonla@mailbox.sc.edu) or Leigh Lever, R.N. ((803) 416-8884, Leigh.Lever@lcsdmail.net) [1].
Source:
[1] Dawson, R. M., Heiney, S. P., Messias, D. A. H., & Ownby, D. (2020). A Patient-Centered Asthma Management Communication Intervention for Rural Latino Children: Protocol for a Waiting-List Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 9(12), e18977. https://doi.org/10.2196/18977
