The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #44515

Tami L. Gouveia-Vigeant, MSW, School of Public Health, Boston University, 38 B Eleventh Street, Lowell, MA 01850, 978-453-6891, ptvigeant@attbi.com

Objectives: This study sought to determine the factors that contribute to low blood lead level screening rates and high hospitalization rates due to asthma attacks in two Massachusetts communities.

Methods: Telephone survey of 251 parents of children under 12 years was conducted in Methuen and Lawrence, Massachusetts in July 2001. Barriers to obtaining accurate information about the importance of yearly blood lead level screenings and employing prevention measures to decrease asthma attacks and subsequent hospitalization were examined.

Results: Of those parents who had heard from their doctor about the importance of screening their children annually for elevated blood lead levels, 54.2% had their children screened, while 45.8% of those who heard from other sources obtained a yearly screening. The two most common reasons parents cited for not obtaining an annual screening were that their doctor did not recommend it (16.7%) and it did not seem important (25%). Seventy-four percent of those parents who did not hear of any methods from a doctor or nurse for preventing an asthma attack had the youngest householder with asthma hospitalized due to an asthma attack.

Conclusion: Child healthcare providers maintain a high degree of influence on parents' awareness and adoption of methods to prevent hospitalizations due to asthma attacks and identification of children with elevated blood lead levels. Social marketing campaigns that aim to increase the lead screening rates and decrease the rates of hospitalizations due to asthma attacks should reinforce to providers the central role they play in fostering appropriate health behaviors.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to

• Articulate the components needed to conduct a household health survey in a local community;
• Discuss and describe some barriers parents face in obtaining accurate information about blood lead level screenings and preventing asthma attacks;
• Identify several methods for reinforcing the role that doctors play in educating their clients about appropriate health behaviors.

Keywords: Asthma, Lead

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.