BACKGROUND: Many Hispanics in the United States have limited English proficiency and prefer communicating in Spanish. Language barriers are known to adversely affect health care quality and outcomes. OBJECTIVE: We explored the relationship between parent language preference in a Hispanic population and the likelihood that a child with symptoms receives a diagnosis of asthma. METHODS: We conducted a school-based survey in 105 Chicago public and Catholic schools. Our sample included 14,177 Hispanic children 6 to 12 years of age with a parent who completed an asthma survey. Outcomes of diagnosed asthma and possible asthma (asthma symptoms without diagnosis) were assessed by using the Brief Pediatric Asthma Screen Plus instrument. RESULTS: Overall, 12.0% of children had diagnosed asthma, and 12.7% had possible asthma. Parents of children at risk who completed the survey in English reported higher rates of asthma diagnosis compared with parents who completed it in Spanish (55.2% vs 36.3%, P < .001). Predictors of asthma diagnosis were child sex, parental language preference, parental asthma status, and other household members with asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Parental language preference might be an important characteristic associated with childhood asthma diagnosis. Whether language itself is the key factor or the fact that language is a surrogate for other attributes of acculturation needs to be explored. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Our findings suggest that estimates of asthma among Hispanic schoolchildren might be low because of underdiagnosis among children whose parents prefer communicating in Spanish.
BACKGROUND: Many Hispanics in the United States have limited English proficiency and prefer communicating in Spanish. Language barriers are known to adversely affect health care quality and outcomes. OBJECTIVE: We explored the relationship between parent language preference in a Hispanic population and the likelihood that a child with symptoms receives a diagnosis of asthma. METHODS: We conducted a school-based survey in 105 Chicago public and Catholic schools. Our sample included 14,177 Hispanic children 6 to 12 years of age with a parent who completed an asthma survey. Outcomes of diagnosed asthma and possible asthma (asthma symptoms without diagnosis) were assessed by using the Brief Pediatric Asthma Screen Plus instrument. RESULTS: Overall, 12.0% of children had diagnosed asthma, and 12.7% had possible asthma. Parents of children at risk who completed the survey in English reported higher rates of asthma diagnosis compared with parents who completed it in Spanish (55.2% vs 36.3%, P < .001). Predictors of asthma diagnosis were child sex, parental language preference, parental asthma status, and other household members with asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Parental language preference might be an important characteristic associated with childhood asthma diagnosis. Whether language itself is the key factor or the fact that language is a surrogate for other attributes of acculturation needs to be explored. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Our findings suggest that estimates of asthma among Hispanic schoolchildren might be low because of underdiagnosis among children whose parents prefer communicating in Spanish.
Authors: Martha P Montgomery; Elizabeth D Allen; Olivia Thomas; Byron F Robinson; Donnie Clark; Ann Connelly; Joshua A Mott; Elizabeth Conrey Journal: J Asthma Date: 2018-06-14 Impact factor: 2.515
Authors: Neeta Thakur; Sam S Oh; Elizabeth A Nguyen; Melissa Martin; Lindsey A Roth; Joshua Galanter; Christopher R Gignoux; Celeste Eng; Adam Davis; Kelley Meade; Michael A LeNoir; Pedro C Avila; Harold J Farber; Denise Serebrisky; Emerita Brigino-Buenaventura; William Rodriguez-Cintron; Rajesh Kumar; L Keoki Williams; Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo; Shannon Thyne; Saunak Sen; Jose R Rodriguez-Santana; Luisa N Borrell; Esteban G Burchard Journal: Am J Respir Crit Care Med Date: 2013-11-15 Impact factor: 21.405
Authors: Nathalia Jimenez; Beth E Ebel; Jin Wang; Thomas D Koepsell; Kenneth M Jaffe; Andrea Dorsch; Dennis Durbin; Monica S Vavilala; Nancy Temkin; Frederick P Rivara Journal: Pediatrics Date: 2013-05-06 Impact factor: 7.124
Authors: Kevin B Weiss; John Jay Shannon; Laura S Sadowski; Lisa K Sharp; Laura Curtis; Christopher S Lyttle; Rajesh Kumar; Madeleine U Shalowitz; Lori Weiselberg; Catherine D Catrambone; Arthur Evans; Romina Kee; Jon Miller; Linda Kimmel; Leslie C Grammer Journal: Contemp Clin Trials Date: 2009-01-23 Impact factor: 2.226