THE SURVEY
The CHIRAH project was established as one of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Centers for Reducing Asthma Disparities. A collaborative effort of the Institute for Healthcare Studies at Northwestern University and the Collaborative Research Unit at Cook County's John Stroger Hospital, the core activity of the project has been a community-based cohort study of the City of Chicago.
Purpose of the Study
Chicago is one of the US cities with the highest asthma mortality rates. These rates are associated with race and community social economic status in Chicago and other high risk urban communities. The goal of the CHIRAH study has been to better characterize factors that contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in asthma prevalence and severity, and to identify factors which could form the basis of new intervention strategies to eliminate these disparities.
Methods
School Survey:
During the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 school years, we distributed 62,005 short questionnaires in 105 schools in the city of Chicago (78 Chicago Public Schools, 27 Archdiocese of Chicago schools). From 48,917 returned surveys, we identified 5,255 adults and children who were potentially eligible and interested in participating in a more in-depth study.
Baseline Interview:
After a telephone screening interview, 353 adults and 561 children and their caregivers completed an hour long, in-person interview that included questions on:
asthma history and symptoms,
medication use,
health services use and barriers,
general health and other health problems,
health literacy,
asthma knowledge,
beliefs and attitudes,
quality of life,
stress and coping,
anxiety and depression,
tobacco and alcohol use,
family violence, and
demographics.
Subjects also participated in spirometry tests to measure lung function, cotinine to measure nicotine exposure, and blood draws for allergen testing.
Followup Interviews:
Follow-up interviews were completed by telephone every three months for 18 months, for a total of six followup interviews. The topics covered in the baseline interview were repeated on a regular basis. At selected interviews we also asked about perceived stigma associated with asthma, spirituality, perceived control, the home environment, discrimination based on gender, and wealth/income. Approximately 90% of all scheduled interviews were completed. The last interview was completed March 8, 2007.
Results:
The findings of this study are being release in a series of journal articles and conference presentations. These are available elsewhere on this Web site.