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Background/Purpose: Asthma is a prevalent chronic condition with excess disease burden in school-aged, minority children from low income inner-city communities. Conceptualized within a nursing and socio-ecological framework, the purpose of this secondary analysis of inner-city school-aged children with asthma was to quantify how parental characteristics and local environment affect stress and health knowledge that, in turn, encourage or discourage better parent asthma management behaviors (AMB). Theoretical Framework: Dorothea Orem's Self-Care Framework and Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory were used. Methods: A prospective, correlational study with a longitudinal design of inner-city, school-aged children with asthma was conducted. The sample included 351 school-aged children (7.9 years old, SD= 1.9 years; 53.0% male; 95.7% minority). Parents reported race, education, income, stress, housing, family and neighborhood characteristics, as well as AMBs (including medication administration, routine healthcare visits, smoke and pest exposure) at baseline. Smoke and pest exposure was also measured at four follow-up points every 3 months. Logistic regression was used for each AMB model. Logistic generalized estimation regression was used for children's smoke and pest exposure due to the repeated quarterly wave nature of the data. Results: Controlling for demographics and inner-city characteristics, parents with high stress were more likely to have children with passive smoke exposure (OR=1.6, p=.04) and miss healthcare appointments (OR=5.2, p=.05). Parents who missed their child's healthcare appointments and have pests in their home were both more likely to live in an unmaintained neighborhood (OR=7.6, p=.001; OR=1.8, p=.002) and have more family members in their home (OR=5.0, p=.01; OR=2.0, p=.000). Lastly, parents with asthma knowledge were more likely to administer medications regularly (OR=15.2, p=.01). Conclusions/Implications: Parents with high stress and who reside with large families in unmaintained neighborhoods are at higher risk for not performing AMBs that support the best outcomes for their child with asthma. Implementation of nationally recommended, evidence-based interventions for child homes and parent education of asthma through transdisci-plinary healthcare providers for this inner-city population are needed. Research on the implementation science of these interventions and role of parent stress on the effectiveness of these interventions in the inner-city population is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Purpose: Over the past three decades, adolescent obesity in the United States has reached epidemic proportions, with significant disparities noted in minority populations. Rates for Hispanic adolescents (ages 12 to 19) have risen to 15.5%, while overall population rates are 13%. Regular physical activity and exercise have been shown to have long term health benefits, yet more than 21 % of Hispanic adolescent females do not meet the targeted recommendation for physical activity. Hispanic females demonstrate significant declines in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) from ninth through twelfth grade, and account for one of the largest at risk groups for adult obesity. The purpose of this study was to examine social and environmental factors that influence moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in adolescent Hispanic females. Theoretical Framework: This study was guided by Stokols' Social Ecological Model for Health Promotion. Methods: A correlational secondary data analysis was conducted utilizing data from the National Survey of Children's Health (2011/12) and was designed to examine social and physical/ community level factors related to MVPA levels in (n=1830) early and mid-adolescent Hispanic females. Logistic regression was used to estimate associations for factors with MVPA. Results: Significant predictors of MVPA in early adolescence included household generation OR 2.02 (95% CI, 1.10-3.71), parental attendance of activities OR .419 (95% CI, .286-.685), and peer support OR 3.71 (95% CI, 2.33Y5.91). Significant mid-adolescent predictors were English speaking OR 1.64 (95% CI, 1.03-2.61), parental attendance of activities OR .50 (95% CI, .31-.81), peer support OR 2.74 (95% CI, 1.75-4.29), supportive neighborhood OR 1.52 (95% CI, 1.03-2.32) and safe school environment OR 1.67 (95% CI, 1.01-2.74). Conclusions/Implications: Findings from this study highlight the need for the development of age and culturally appropriate interventions to aid the improvement of participation levels in MVPA among the Latina adolescent population. Additionally, the findings suggest recommendations for policy and future research aimed at providing a comprehensive community approach to improve physical activity behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]