# Puerto Rico Asthma Integrated Response Program (PR-AIR)

> **NIH NIH R01** · RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL · 2022 · $734,439

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Children of Puerto Rican (PR) descent have higher rates of asthma prevalence and morbidity than children
from any other ethnic group. Children residing on the Island of PR have even higher asthma prevalence than
Mainland PR children. We propose to implement and evaluate the Puerto Rico-Asthma Integrated
Response Program (PR-AIR) to address pediatric asthma disparities in San Juan, PR, an area of high
asthma burden. PR-AIR integrates evidence-based interventions in home and school settings, and enhances
communication between families, schools, and health care providers. During Phase 1, we will convene a
community collaborative of stakeholders that will provide input throughout the project, and use in-depth
interviews to identify community needs, barriers, and facilitators to enable PR-AIR implementation. We will
identify which characteristics of our existing evidence-based virtual and in-person interventions in home and
school settings require fidelity-consistent modifications and use stakeholder input and matching of barriers to
implementation strategy selection to identify methods to enhance PR-AIR uptake. During Phase 2, we will use
a hybrid type III effectiveness-implementation design, evaluating low-intensity (virtual) and high-intensity
(in-person) methods of implementation of PR-AIR. We will provide PR-AIR sequentially to 12 communities
identified with high asthma burden through geospatial mapping using a cluster randomized, stepped wedge
trial design, delivering PR-AIR to 400 children with asthma ages 2-12. We will use a mixed-methods approach
to assess the impact of our implementation strategies on PR-AIR reach, adoption, implementation, and
maintenance, and evaluate effectiveness of PR-AIR on individual-level (asthma control, quality of life) and
community-level (health care utilization, school absences) outcomes. PR-AIR builds on a 20-year
collaboration between our research teams in RI and PR, with an investment in advancing knowledge of
multi-level factors affecting pediatric asthma disparities and reducing morbidity in children through evidence-
based, sustainable interventions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10534086
- **Project number:** 1R01HL159701-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** GLORISA J CANINO
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $734,439
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-15 → 2027-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10534086

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10534086, Puerto Rico Asthma Integrated Response Program (PR-AIR) (1R01HL159701-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10534086. Licensed CC0.

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