Publications by authors named "Mosanda M Mvula"
Objectives: To review how disasters introduce unique challenges to conducting population-based research and community-based participatory research (CBPR).
Methods: From 2007-2009, we conducted the Head-off Environmental Asthma in Louisiana (HEAL) Study in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in a Gulf Coast community facing an unprecedented triple burden: Katrina's and other disasters' impact on the environment and health, historic health disparities, and persistent environmental health threats.
Results: The unique triple burden influenced every research component; still, most existing CBPR principles were applicable, even though full adherence was not always feasible and additional tailored principles govern postdisaster settings.
Article Synopsis
- The HEAL intervention in New Orleans targeted asthma counseling for children aged 4-12 with severe asthma, aiming to address challenges in a post-disaster environment.
- Participants received home assessments and personalized counseling, leading to significant improvements in treatment adherence and healthcare utilization.
- The study highlighted that adapting intervention strategies to local needs improved clinical outcomes and could inform future asthma management in underserved areas.
The Head-off Environmental Asthma in Louisiana (HEAL) study--methods and study population.
Environ Health Perspect
November 2012
Background: In the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, and surrounding parishes (NOLA), children with asthma were perilously impacted by Hurricane Katrina as a result of disrupted health care, high home mold and allergen levels, and high stress.
Objectives: The Head-off Environmental Asthma in Louisiana (HEAL) study was conducted to examine relationships between the post-Katrina environment and childhood asthma in NOLA and assess a novel asthma counselor intervention that provided case management and guidance for reducing home mold and allergen levels.
Methods: Children (4-12 years old) with moderate-to-severe asthma were recruited from NOLA schools.
Background: Rain and flooding from Hurricane Katrina resulted in widespread growth of mold and bacteria and production of allergens in New Orleans, Louisiana, which may have led to increased exposures and morbidity in children with asthma.
Objectives: The goal of the Head-off Environmental Asthma in Louisiana (HEAL) study was to characterize post-Katrina exposures to mold and allergens in children with asthma.
Methods: The homes of 182 children with asthma in New Orleans and surrounding parishes were evaluated by visual inspection, temperature and moisture measurements, and air and dust sampling.
Background: Childhood asthma morbidity and mortality in New Orleans, Louisiana, is among the highest in the nation. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina created an environmental disaster that led to high levels of mold and other allergens and disrupted health care for children with asthma.
Objectives: We implemented a unique hybrid asthma counselor and environmental intervention based on successful National Institutes of Health asthma interventions from the National Cooperative Inner City Asthma (NCICAS) and Inner-City Asthma (ICAS) Studies with the goal of reducing asthma symptoms in New Orleans children after Hurricane Katrina.