Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Impact of Student-Directed Videos on Community Asthma Knowledge

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Community Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Student Asthma Research Team (START) program was designed to enable students to explore socio-ecological factors contributing to asthma through the use of Photovoice, a technique that gathers both photographs and personal experiences from participants. The photographs taken by and commentary from student participants were integrated into public service announcements (PSAs) intended to increase community asthma awareness and catalyze behavior change. This article evaluates the effectiveness of these student-directed PSAs at improving asthma awareness among peers and community members. Pre-PSA, immediate post-PSA, and 4 month post-PSA follow-up assessments were conducted to evaluate changes in community members’ asthma knowledge and behavior. The student-directed PSAs were found to significantly increase asthma knowledge among community members, irrespective of age, gender, or race. Increased knowledge persisted through the 4-month post-PSA follow-up. Of the thirty-six participants who were successfully contacted for the follow-up survey, nearly 40 % reported meaningful behavior-change in response to the PSAs. Photovoice and media production techniques were effective in engaging adolescent students—an under-served and often disenfranchised population—in asthma health education through the development and dissemination of PSAs. The extension of participatory techniques such as Photovoice to include the creation of student-directed PSAs holds promise for engaging adolescents in public health initiatives within their communities.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Akinbami, L.J., Moorman, J.E., Bailey, C., Zahran, H.S., King, M., Johnson, C.A., & Liu, X. (2012) Trends in Asthma Prevalence, Health Care Use, and Mortality in the United States, 2001–2010. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Data Brief, 94.

  2. Akinbami, L. J., & Schoendorf, K. C. (2002). Trends in childhood asthma: Prevalence, health care utilization, and mortality. Pediatrics, 110(2 Pt 1), 315–322.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Calmes, D., Leake, B. D., & Carlisle, D. M. (1998). Adverse asthma outcomes among children hospitalized with asthma in California. Pediatrics, 101(5), 845–850.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Akinbami, L. J., Moorman, J. E., Garbe, P. L., & Sondik, E. J. (2009). Status of childhood asthma in the United States, 1980–2007. Pediatrics, 123(Suppl 3), S131–S145.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Gupta, R. S., Carrion-Carire, V., & Weiss, K. B. (2006). The widening black/white gap in asthma hospitalizations and mortality. Journal of Allergy in Clinical Immunology, 117(2), 351–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Gupta, R. S., Zhang, X., Sharp, L. K., Shannon, J. J., & Weiss, K. B. (2008). Geographic variability in childhood asthma prevalence in Chicago. Journal of Allergy Clinical Immunology, 121(3), 639–645 e631.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Bakirtas, A. (2009). Acute effects of passive smoking on asthma in childhood. Inflammation and Allergy: Drug Targets, 8(5), 353–358.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Tzivian, L. (2011). Outdoor air pollution and asthma in children. Journal of Asthma, 48(5), 470–481.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Kozyrskyj, A. L., Kendall, G. E., Jacoby, P., Sly, P. D., & Zubrick, S. R. (2010). Association between socioeconomic status and the development of asthma: Analyses of income trajectories. American Journal of Public Health, 100(3), 540–546.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Hill, T. D., Graham, L. M., & Divgi, V. (2011). Racial disparities in pediatric asthma: A review of the literature. Current Allergy and Asthma Reports, 11(1), 85–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Gupta, R. S., Ballesteros, J., Springston, E. E., Smith, B., Martin, M., Wang, E., et al. (2010). The state of pediatric asthma in Chicago’s Humboldt Park: A community-based study in two local elementary schools. BMC Pediatrics, 10, 45.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Gupta, R. S., Zhang, X., Springston, E. E., Sharp, L., Curtis, L., Shalowitz, M., et al. (2011). The association between community crime and childhood asthma prevalence. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 104, 299–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Quinn, K., Kaufman, J. S., Siddiqi, A., & Yeatts, K. B. (2010). Parent perceptions of neighborhood stressors are associated with general health and child respiratory health among low-income, urban families. Journal of Asthma, 47(3), 281–289.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Gupta, R. S., Zhang, X., Sharp, L. K., Shannon, J. J., & Weiss, K. B. (2009). The protective effect of community factors on childhood asthma. Journal of Allergy Clinical Immunol, 123(6), 1297-1304 e1292.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Rhee, H., Belyea, M. J., & Elward, K. S. (2008). Patterns of asthma control perception in adolescents: Associations with psychosocial functioning. Journal of Asthma, 45(7), 600–606.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Michaud, P. A., Frappier, J. Y., & Pless, I. B. (1991). Compliance in adolescents with chronic disease. Archives françaises de pédiatrie, 48(5), 329–336.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Whitman, S., Williams, C., & Shah, A. (2004). Sinai health system’s community health survey: Report 1. Chicago: Sinai Health System.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Clark, N. M. (2012). Community-based approaches to controlling childhood asthma. Annual Review of Public Health, 33, 193–208.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Wolf, F. M., Guevara, J. P., Grum, C. M., Clark, N. M., & Cates, C. J. (2003). Educational interventions for asthma in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev(1), CD000326.

  20. Clark, N. M., Brown, R., Joseph, C. L., Anderson, E. W., Liu, M., & Valerio, M. A. (2004). Effects of a comprehensive school-based asthma program on symptoms, parent management, grades, and absenteeism. Chest, 125(5), 1674–1679.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Tinkelman, D., & Schwartz, A. (2004). School-based asthma disease management. Journal of Asthma, 41(4), 455–462.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Crocker, D. D., Kinyota, S., Dumitru, G. G., et al. (2011). Effectiveness of home-based, multi-trigger, multicomponent interventions with an environmental focus for reducing asthma morbidity: A community guide systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 41(2 Suppl 1), S5–S32.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Thyne, S., Rising, J., Legion, V., & Love, M. (2006). The “Yes We Can” Urban Asthma Partnership: A medical/social model for childhood asthma management. Journal of Asthma, 43(9), 667–673.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Williams, S., Wharton, A. R., Falter, K. H., French, E., & Redd, S. C. (2003). Retention factors for participants of an inner-city community-based asthma intervention study. Ethnicity and Disease, 13(1), 118–125.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Nicholas, S., Jean-Louis, B., Ortiz, B., Northridge, M., Shoemaker, K., Vaughan, R., et al. (2005). Addressing the childhood asthma crisis in Harlem: The Harlem Children’s Zone Asthma Initiative. American Journal of Public Health, 95(2), 245–249.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Brown, M., Reeves, M., Meyerson, K., & Korzeniewski, S. (2006). Randomized trial of a comprehensive asthma education program after an emergency department visit. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 97(1), 44–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Stout, J., White, L., Rogers, L., McRorie, T., Morray, B., Miller-Ratcliffe, M., et al. (1998). The Asthma Outreach Project: A promising approach to comprehensive asthma management. Journal of Asthma, 35(1), 119–127.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Anderson, M. E., Freas, M. R., Wallace, A. S., Kempe, A., Gelfand, E. W., & Liu, A. H. (2004). Successful school-based intervention for inner-city children with persistent asthma. Journal of Asthma, 41(4), 445–453.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Magzamen, S., Patel, B., Davis, A., Edelstein, J., & Tager, I. B. (2008). Kickin’ Asthma: School-based asthma education in an urban community. Journal of School Health, 78(12), 655–665.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Warne, M., Snyder, K., & Gillander Gadin, K. (2012). Photovoice: An opportunity and challenge for students’ genuine participation. Health Promot Int.

  31. Brazg, T., Bekemeier, B., Spigner, C., & Huebner, C. E. (2011). Our community in focus: The use of photovoice for youth-driven substance abuse assessment and health promotion. Health Promotion Practice, 12(4), 502–511.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Green, L. W., & Mercer, S. L. (2001). Can Public Health Researchers and Agencies Reconcile the Push from Funding Bodies and the Pull from Communities? American Journal of Public Health, 91(12), 1926–1929.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Gupta, R.S., Lau, C.H., Springston, E.E., Warren, C.M., Mears, C.J., Dunford, C.M., Sharp, L.K., & Holl, J.L. (2012) Perceived Factors Affecting Asthma among Adolescents: Experiences and Findings from the Student Asthma Research Team Pilot Study. J Asthma Allergy Educ, under review.

  34. Clark, N. M., Mitchell, H. E., & Rand, C. S. (2009). Effectiveness of educational and behavioral asthma interventions. Pediatrics, 123(Suppl 3), S185–S192.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Coffman, J. M., Cabana, M. D., & Yelin, E. H. (2009). Do school-based asthma education programs improve self-management and health outcomes? Pediatrics, 124(2), 729–742.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Jacobs, G. (2011). “Take control or lean back?” Barriers to practicing empowerment in health promotion. Health Promotion Practice, 12(1), 94–101.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Zimmerman, M. (2000). Empowerment theory: Psychological, organizational, and community levels of analysis. In J. Rappaport & E. Seidman (Eds.), Handbook of community psychology (pp. 43–63). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  38. Shah, S., Peat, J. K., Mazurski, E. J., et al. (2001). Effect of peer led programme for asthma education in adolescents: Cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ, 322(7286), 583–585.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Catalani, C., & Minkler, M. (2010). Photovoice: A review of the literature in health and public health. Health Education and Behaviour, 37(3), 424–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Ling, J. C., Franklin, B. A., Lindsteadt, J. F., & Gearon, S. A. (1992). Social marketing: Its place in public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 13, 341–362.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Salimi, Y., Shahandeh, K., Malekafzali, H., Loori, N., Kheiltash, A., Jamshidi, E., et al. (2012). Is Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) Useful? A Systematic Review on Papers in a Decade. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 3(6), 386–393.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Catalani, C. E., Veneziale, A., Campbell, L., Herbst, S., Butler, B., Springgate, B., et al. (2012). Videovoice: Community assessment in post-Katrina New Orleans. Health Promotion Practice, 13(1), 18–28.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Chavez, V., Israel, B., Allen, A., DeCarlo, M., Lichtenstein, R., Schulz, A., et al. (2004). A bridge between communities: Video-making using principles of community-based participatory research. Health Promotion Practice, 5, 395–403.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for their support of this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, 225 E. Chicago Ave., Box 157, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Ruchi S. Gupta & Claudia H. Lau

  2. Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Ruchi S. Gupta, Christopher M. Warren, Amber Alencar, Elizabeth E. Springston & Jane L. Holl

  3. University of Illinois Chicago’s School of Public Health, Chicago, IL, USA

    Alexandra Lelchuk

  4. West Suburban Medical Center, Oak Park, IL, USA

    Amber Alencar

Authors
  1. Ruchi S. Gupta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Claudia H. Lau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Christopher M. Warren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alexandra Lelchuk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Amber Alencar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Elizabeth E. Springston
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jane L. Holl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ruchi S. Gupta.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (PDF 21 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gupta, R.S., Lau, C.H., Warren, C.M. et al. The Impact of Student-Directed Videos on Community Asthma Knowledge. J Community Health 38, 463–470 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-012-9630-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-012-9630-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation