Aug 31, 2009 -- Dr. Jonathan Feldman, assistant professor at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, is the co-recipient of a $2.5 million grant from the National Institute of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to study ethnic disparities in childhood asthma. The grant is shared with researchers at Arizona State University.

Research will be conducted by Arizona State faculty at three different sites in Phoenix and by a team of Ferkauf researchers and students at Jacobi Medical Center and North Central Bronx Hospital. Feldman serves as the principal investigator for the Ferkauf site.

The research will focus on disparities in childhood asthma between Mexican and Puerto Rican children living in the U.S. According to current data, Mexican children have the lowest prevalence rate among all ethnic groups in this country, while Puerto Rican children have the highest rate. The study will explore this incongruity in Hispanic subgroups, focusing on the differences in parents’ health beliefs and the use of complementary and alternative medicines for asthma versus asthma medications prescribed by health care providers.

“This study will help us better understand health beliefs that may vary by culture, which may affect asthma management and ultimately, asthma outcomes,” Feldman said.

Parents often do not communicate to their physicians that they are using alternative or complementary treatments. “Some parents, for example, may choose to use Vicks Vaporub as the primary treatment for asthma instead of medications prescribed by their physicians,” Feldman explained. “This can be problematic because the child is not receiving controller medication for asthma to prevent symptoms.”