INNER CITY CHILDHOOD ASTHMA\SELF MANAGEMENT VIDEO

THE PURPOSE OF THIS SBIR IS TO DEVELOP AND TEST AN EDUCATIONAL VIDEOTAPE FOR INNER CITY (LARGELY MINORITY) CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA AND THEIR PARENTS. DESPITE IMPROVEMENTS IN MEDICAL TREATMENT, MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY FROM ASTHMA IN THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN INCREASING AND URBAN POPULATIONS APPEAR TO BE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED. ASTHMA MANAGEMENT IN THESE FAMILIES PRESENTS UNIQUE CHALLENGES COMPLICATED BY A VARIETY OF SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS, INCLUDING ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, POOR HOME ENVIRONMENTS WITH HIGH ALLERGEN EXPOSURES, AND LOW LEVELS OF EDUCATION. FEW EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS WHICH TEACH SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS TO CHILDREN IN A MANNER THAT MEETS THE SPECIAL NEEDS OF THIS POPULATION HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED. WE WILL DEVELOP A HOME-BASED, ASTHMA EDUCATION VIDEOTAPE WHICH WILL TARGET A HIGH RISK GROUP, WITH A CONTENT AND MANNER OF PRESENTATION WHICH IS TAILORED TO THE SOCIOECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES OF INNER CITY FAMILIES. THE AIMS OF PHASE I WILL BE TO: 1) DEVELOP CONTENT AREAS OF THE VIDEOTAPE; 2) PRODUCE A SCRIPT FOR TWO 15 MINUTE SEGMENTS; AND, 3) ARRANGE FOR PRODUCTION OF THE VIDEOTAPE. PHASE II INVOLVES PRODUCTION OF THE VIDEOTAPE AND EVALUATION OF ITS EFFECTIVENESS ON CHILD AND PARENT ASTHMA-RELATED KNOWLEDGE. THE FINAL PRODUCT AT THE END OF PHASE II, TWO 15 MINUTE ASTHMA EDUCATION VIDEOTAPE SEGMENTS IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR MASS PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION IN PHASE III.