# Examining the community health worker model of care in pediatric asthma

> **NIH NIH F31** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $46,752

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Community health worker (CHW) focused interventions have been found to improve pediatric asthma
symptoms and reduce Medicaid costs. Pediatric asthma disproportionately affects Black and Latinx children,
and children living in low-income, urban areas. Families living in urban settings experience additional stressors
(e.g., neighborhood violence, increased exposure to irritants) that contribute to increased child asthma
morbidity. CHWs focus on connecting care among schools, providers, and homes, and empowering families in
accessing resources to overcome barriers to care. However, research is just beginning to understand how
CHWs create positive change among families within low-income, urban communities. The proposed study will
use a qualitative data approach and secondary data analyses of an NHLBI-funded Asthma Empowerment
grant that is testing a randomized clinical trial of the community-based asthma program, RVA Breathes (PI:
Everhart, U01HL138682). Participants in RVA Breathes are predominantly African American, reside in public
housing, and report an income below the poverty line. This mixed-methods F31 study proposes to examine the
processes by which CHWs in RVA Breathes assist families in improving their children's asthma control over an
18-month period. As a novel component, this proposal considers how CHWs and families have been affected
by the COVID-19 pandemic. For this F31 study, CHW session notes (both pre/post the start of COVID-19 in
mid-March 2020) from the RVA Breathes intervention will be qualitatively analyzed. Furthermore, I will conduct
three focus groups (two English-speaking groups; one Spanish-speaking group) with caregivers who have
completed the intervention phase of RVA Breathes, and one focus group with the RVA Breathes' CHWs.
Secondary data analyses will use multi-level modeling to assess the association of barriers to care and
resource engagement with asthma control over 18 months. Specific aims of this F31 are: 1) to identify barriers
to care and examine engagement with CHW provided resources targeting such barriers both pre-COVID-19
and currently, 2) to examine associations between caregiver-level factors, type of CHW provided resources
(e.g., asthma-specific, socially-specific), and changes in asthma control, and 3) to collaboratively develop a
manual of resources for CHWs to use locally, with potential for regional dissemination. The proposed study is
critical in understanding how CHWs empower families to overcome barriers to asthma care and address social
determinants of health at the family level, all within the context of a pandemic. My comprehensive training plan
includes training in multi-level modeling, qualitative analyses, asthma health policy, asthma medical treatment,
and the CHW model of care using a carefully crafted team that I would not have access to working with without
this opportunity. The proposed research and training plan are essential in my development as an independent
researc...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10514522
- **Project number:** 5F31HL158196-02
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Katherine Dempster Lohr
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $46,752
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-05-10 → 2023-07-09

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10514522

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10514522, Examining the community health worker model of care in pediatric asthma (5F31HL158196-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10514522. Licensed CC0.

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