Chicago Community-Based Asthma Intervention Trial - Feasibility of delivering peer education in an inner-city population

The most effective means of educating children with asthma and their famili es has not been clearly demonstrated in previous studies. Peer education is uniquely suited to the complex problems encountered in underserved populat ions, The purpose of this study was to show the feasibility of delivering a peer education program for children with asthma and the effect of the prog ram on indoor allergen levels in an inner-city population in Chicago, Overa ll, the program was well received. Baseline allergen levels were consistent with some previous studies in showing low levels of mite allergens and hig h levels of cockroach allergens, with 79.6% of samples having levels > 8 U/ g. A total of 28.2% of samples had cat allergen levels >2 mu g/g, although only 9.7% of homes had cats, confirming previous reports that cat allergen is ubiquitous. Mold levels were seasonal, with the highest levels in the su mmer. Results from this study suggest that intervention programs should foc us more on elimination of cockroaches than was previously appreciated, whil e minimizing the use of pesticides, and on identification of the sources of cat allergen, Structural and psychosocial issues in homes need to be addre ssed in future studies. This study has demonstrated the feasibility of deli vering peer education in a inner-city population and highlighted the need f or comprehensive intervention strategies addressing complex issues facing u nderserved neighborhoods.