Randomized trial of a portable HEPA air cleaner intervention to reduce asthma morbidity among Latino children in an agricultural community.

Background: Data on pediatric asthma morbidity and effective environmental interventions in U.S. agricultural settings are few.

Quantifying the Distribution of Environmental Health Threats and Hazards in Washington State Using a Cumulative Environmental Inequality Index.

Environmental racism, community stressors, and age-related susceptibility play a significant role in environmental inequality. The goal of this article was to use an inequality index (II) to assess the level of equality in environmental threats and hazards based on race, poverty, and age in Washington State. Using the Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map, we quantified the level of disproportionate burdens on communities with greater populations of people of color, people in poverty, children younger than 5, and people older than 65 using 3 cumulative environmental indices and 10 individual environmental indicators.

Effectiveness of portable HEPA air cleaners on reducing indoor endotoxin, PM and coarse particulate matter in an agricultural cohort of children with asthma: A randomized intervention trial.

We conducted a randomized trial of portable HEPA air cleaners in the homes of children age 6-12 years with asthma in the Yakima Valley, Washington. All families received asthma education while intervention families also received two HEPA cleaners (child's bedroom, living room). We collected 14-day integrated samples of endotoxin in settled dust and PM and PM in the air of the children's bedrooms at baseline and one-year follow-up, and used linear regression to compare follow-up levels, adjusting for baseline.

Health workers' perspectives of a mobile health tool to improve diagnosis and management of paediatric acute respiratory illnesses in Uganda: a qualitative study.

Objectives: Mobile health tools have potential to improve the diagnosis and management of acute lower respiratory illnesses (ALRI), a leading cause of paediatric mortality worldwide. The objectives were to evaluate health workers' perceptions of acceptability, usability and feasibility of Acute Lower Respiratory Illness Treatment and Evaluation (ALRITE), a novel mobile health tool to help frontline health workers diagnose, treat and provide education about ALRI in children <5 years.

Design: A qualitative study including semistructured interviews with health facility administrators and focus groups with primary care health workers.

Community-Level Factors Associated with COVID-19 Cases and Testing Equity in King County, Washington.

Individual-level Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) case data suggest that certain populations may be more impacted by the pandemic. However, few studies have considered the communities from which positive cases are prevalent, and the variations in testing rates between communities. In this study, we assessed community factors that were associated with COVID-19 testing and test positivity at the census tract level for the Seattle, King County, Washington region at the summer peak of infection in July 2020.

Effectiveness of portable HEPA air cleaners on reducing indoor PM and NH in an agricultural cohort of children with asthma: A randomized intervention trial.

We conducted a randomized trial of portable HEPA air cleaners with pre-filters designed to also reduce NH in non-smoking homes of children age 6-12 with asthma in Yakima Valley (Washington, USA). Participants were recruited through the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic asthma education program. All participants received education on home triggers while intervention families additionally received two HEPA cleaners (child's sleeping area, main living area).

The home air in agriculture pediatric intervention (HAPI) trial: Rationale and methods.

Background: Data addressing air quality effects on children with asthma in rural U.S. communities are rare.

Listening to Consumer Perspectives to Inform Addictions and Housing-Related Practice and Research.

The study, funded by the Northwest Health Foundation of Portland, Oregon and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), was conducted as part of the HEARTH collaborative (Housing, Employment and Recovery Together for Health). HEARTH, established in 2010, is a community-academic partnership involving partners from Portland State University (PSU), Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), and Central City Concern (CCC). Using the approaches of community-based participatory research (CBPR), these diverse stakeholders collaborated to co-develop research of direct relevance to the local community and to national academic and policy communities.

Pesticide exposure and occupational safety training of indigenous farmworkers in Oregon.

This follow-up study assessed indigenous and Latino farmworkers' occupational health and safety needs and measured variables related to pesticide exposure and pesticide safety training among this population. Results yielded differences between indigenous workers and Latino workers related to language barriers, experiences of workplace discrimination, preferred modes of information dissemination, pesticide exposures, and sufficiency of pesticide training. Employing more people who speak indigenous languages as interpreters, community and organizational leaders, and health workers may remove some of the linguistic and cultural barriers to occupational safety training.

Findings from a community-based participatory prevention research intervention designed to increase social capital in Latino and African American communities.

A community-based participatory research intervention, Poder es Salud/Power for Health, employed Community Health Workers who used popular education to identify and address health disparities in Latino and African American communities in a metropolitan area in the United States. We assessed participants' social capital, self-rated health, and depressive symptoms at baseline and the end of the intervention. Social support and self-rated health improved while depressive symptoms decreased.

Application of qualitative methods in program planning for health promotion interventions.

The use of qualitative methods can provide an in-depth understanding of the issues and barriers related to community health and can help to inform the planning of health promotion programs and interventions. Although there are many examples in the literature that describe the application of quantitative data to program planning, few articles explicitly describe the application of qualitative data, such as data gathered using focus groups, in-depth interviews, and windshield tours, in program planning. Using the East Side Village Health Worker Partnership in Detroit, Michigan, as a case study example, this article explains the methods of incorporating qualitative data into each stage of program planning and development, including community assessment, development of goals and objectives, implementation of activities, and program evaluation.

Developing a reliable Senior Walking Environmental Assessment Tool.

Background: Research of the effects of the built environment on physical activity often excludes certain segments of the population. The senior population, one segment perhaps most influenced by the physical features of an environment, has been understudied. Developing reliable measures of the environment is important to increase our understanding of the environmental effects on physical activity among seniors.

Neighborhood design and active aging.

This qualitative analysis of focus groups describes how neighborhood design encourages active aging. Nine focus groups were conducted in 2002 and 2003 with residents (N=60) aged 55 and over living in Portland, OR, USA. Content analysis revealed that local shopping and services, traffic and pedestrian infrastructure, neighborhood attractiveness, and public transportation influence activity among older adults.

Building on leadership and social capital to create change in 2 urban communities.

There has been an appeal to reduce health inequities by increasing community involvement and social capital. Poder es Salud/Power for Health is a community-based participatory prevention research project that seeks to address health disparities in the African American and Latino communities by enhancing community-level social capital. We provide specific examples of how this intervention uses community health workers and popular education to reduce language and cultural barriers and enhance community social capital.

The relationship between social support, stress, and health among women on Detroit's East Side.

A conceptual model of the stress process has been useful in examining relationships between numerous social determinants (e.g., chronic stress), protective factors (e.