Doctors working to discover why Arkansas kids have more difficulty with asthma
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTAL/KMSS) - Doctors at a research institute in Arkansas are trying to determine why children from Arkansas have more difficulty with asthma than children in other regions of the country.
Akilah Jefferson, MD, MSc, is an Arkansas Children's Research Institute researcher. Jefferson is also an assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at UAMS College of Medicine.
Jefferson will use a $662,000, four-year award from the National Institutes of Health to research asthma in Arkansas children.
The UAMS Translational Research Institute is funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the National Institutes of Health.
Jefferson often treats children with immune conditions and allergies, and she will be investigating factors like home environment, access to healthcare, the quality of healthcare, and more to determine how providers can help children in Arkansas who suffer from asthma.
Jefferson said the goal is to ensure that every child, regardless of where they live, has the chance to breathe easily and thrive.
“A child’s zip code should have nothing to do with how easy it is for them to breathe. Arkansas children need our help to determine why asthma is so challenging in our state and to create new ways to help them,” Jefferson said.
Asthma is one of the most common childhood conditions. Arkansas children, particularly those with minority backgrounds who live in rural communities, often face higher rates of asthma, too. They are also much more likely to have complications from asthma that put their lives at risk.
Jefferson hopes to create targeted interventions to improve outcomes for Arkansas children who have asthma.
The NIH’s Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development (K23) program awarded the funds for the research project. Jefferson's mentor on the project is Tamara Perry, MD, the chief of Allergy and Immunology at Arkansas Children's.
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