# BACKGROUND: Bettering Asthma Care in Kids - Geographic Social Determinants Data to Understand Disparities

> **NIH NIH R01** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $469,682

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 Latino children with asthma have worse outcomes from their asthma than non-Hispanic white children.
In the medical literature, the degree to which these outcomes are the result of limited access, underutilization,
poor quality of care, or social & environmental factors is unclear. A fuller understanding of asthma outcomes in
Latino children is hampered by scientific evidence that has relied upon cross-sectional studies with a limited
time capture, or subjective surveys vulnerable to response biases. Additionally, some evidence in the health
services literature suggests that social determinants of health (individual- and community-level economic,
social, and environmental factors), including Hispanic subgroup (Mexican ancestry, Puerto Rican ancestry, etc)
affect asthma care and outcomes. It is uncertain, however, which social determinants are most strongly
associated with Latino children's asthma care.
 The proposed project intends to fill these gaps in knowledge regarding the nature of asthma care
disparities in Latino children and the relative contribution of social determinants of health to these disparities,
by utilizing an objective, longitudinal, and robust linkage of data sources encompassing thousands of
vulnerable children across multiple states. We will leverage a unique data resource from a large, national
network of community health centers with shared electronic health record data that is linked to community-level
social determinants of health data. This large, longitudinal dataset contains unprecedented data linkages which
will let us assess disparities in asthma care, evaluate which social determinants affect utilization and
disparities, and determine which of these may do so most significantly over time. We will also specifically
develop methods to use community Hispanic subgroup information to estimate the individual subgroups of
patient seen in our clinics (which is information not usually present in electronic health records), and how
preventive service use differs among these groups
 Understanding the relative impact of social determinants of health on asthma care in Latino children
will: 1. Enable more informed policy decisions to improve the care of this vulnerable population, 2. facilitate
strategic partnerships between healthcare providers and community agencies poised to intervene in social
factors in the lives of Latino children, and 3. help clinical providers understand their patients' barriers to care
utilization, and further point-of-care efforts to address the barriers that influence children's utilization of
recommended health care services for their asthma.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10199747
- **Project number:** 5R01MD011404-05
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** John D. Heintzman
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $469,682
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-26 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10199747

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10199747, BACKGROUND: Bettering Asthma Care in Kids - Geographic Social Determinants Data to Understand Disparities (5R01MD011404-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10199747. Licensed CC0.

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