Highlights • This study used a community-engaged approach to understand needs related to childhood asthma. • Stakeholders participated in focus groups, survey administration, and a community advisory board. • Findings provide intervention recommendations for reducing asthma-related healthcare use. • Programs could include community health workers to coordinate a child's asthma care. • Public health implications include systemic changes that address families' acute needs and worry.
Tobacco causes 29% of cancer-related deaths while alcohol causes 5.5% of cancer-related deaths. Reducing the consumption of these cancer-causing products is a special priority area for the National Cancer Institute. While many factors are linked to tobacco and alcohol use, the placement and density of retail outlets within neighborhoods may be one community-level risk factor contributing to greater use of these products. To elucidate associations between tobacco, alcohol, and tobacco and alcohol retail outlets (TRO, ARO, and TARO) and neighborhood disadvantage over a large geographic area, we employed a novel Bayesian index modeling approach to estimate a neighborhood disadvantage index (NDI) and its associations with rates of the three types of retailers across block groups in the state of North Carolina. We used a novel extension of the Bayesian index model to include a shared component for the spatial pattern common to all three types of outlets and NDI effects that varied by outlet type. The shared component identifies areas that are elevated in risk for all outlets. The results showed significant positive associations between neighborhood disadvantage and TROs (relative risk (RR) = 1.12, 95% credible interval (CI = 1.09, 1.14)) and AROs (RR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.11, 1.17), but the association was greatest for TAROs (RR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.18, 1.24). The most important variables in the NDI were percent renters (i.e., low home ownership), percent of homes built before 1940 (i.e., old housing stock), and percent without a high school diploma (i.e., low education).
Introduction Smoking and smoke exposure among pregnant women remain persistent public health issues. Recent estimates suggest that approximately one out of four nonsmokers have measurable levels of cotinine, a marker indicating regular exposure to secondhand smoke. Epidemiological research has attempted to pinpoint individual-level and neighborhood-level factors for smoking during pregnancy. However, most of these studies have relied upon self-reported measures of smoking. Aims and Methods To more accurately assess smoke exposure resulting from both smoking and secondhand exposure in mothers during pregnancy, we used Bayesian regression models to estimate the association of cotinine levels with tobacco retail outlet (TRO) exposure and a neighborhood deprivation index (NDI) in six counties in North Carolina centered on Durham County. Results Results showed a significant positive association between TRO exposure (β = 0.008, 95% credible interval (CI) = [0.003, 0.013]) and log cotinine after adjusting for individual covariates (eg, age, race/ethnicity, education, marital status). TRO exposure was not significant after including the NDI, which was significantly associated with log cotinine (β = 0.143, 95% CI = [0.030, 0.267]). However, in a low cotinine stratum (indicating secondhand smoke exposure), TRO exposure was significantly associated with log cotinine (β = 0.005, 95% CI = [0.001, 0.009]), while in a high cotinine stratum (indicating active smoking), the NDI was significantly associated with log cotinine (β = 0.176, 95% CI = [0.005, 0.372]). Conclusions In summary, our findings add to the evidence that contextual factors are important for active smoking during pregnancy. Implications In this study, we found several significant associations that suggest a more nuanced understanding of the potential influence of environmental- and individual-level factors for levels of prenatal smoke exposure. Results suggested a significant positive association between TRO exposure and cotinine levels, after adjusting for the individual factors such as race, education, and marital status. Individually, NDI was similarly positively associated with cotinine levels as well. However, when combining TRO exposure alongside NDI in the same model, TROs were no longer significantly associated with overall cotinine levels.
Findings highlight the need for researchers and clinicians to recognize that both asthma (ie, ability to control asthma) and non-asthma related factors (ie, factors related to neighborhoods) may be associated with caregivers' perceptions of their children's asthma symptoms. Perceptions of child symptoms have important consequences for daily asthma care, including decisions related to healthcare utilization.
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