Student Abstracts

African American Asthma Literature Review

Objective: To provide a critical review of literature published between 1990 through early 2006 on the use and effectiveness of the Asthma Control Questionnaire (Juniper) in the African American asthma population.

Data Sources: Computerized searches MedLine, CINAHL, Proquest, and PubMed.

Design: Literature from indexed journals relevant to the topic were reviewed. The search was initially restricted to information that addressed the Asthma Control Questionnaire (Juniper) in the African American asthma population; however, there were none found. The search was then expanded to include word descriptors used in the asthma population, perception of asthma symptoms, cultural differences related to asthma management, assessment of the Juniper, differences in lung function, and genetic variations related to asthma among African Americans and Caucasians.

Results: Six dominant themes were identified in the literature: the perception of asthma symptoms; words used in the asthma population to describe asthma symptoms; differences in asthma symptoms across cultural groups; use and effectiveness of the Asthma Control Questionnaire (Juniper) in the asthma population; differences in lung function; and, genetic links. There is a lack of literature related to the African American asthma population with regards to symptomology and word descriptors. A discussion of the methodological issues arising in the literature, possible recommendations for further asthma research, and implications for nursing practice are outlined.

Conclusion: The mortality associated with asthma is nearly three times greater in the African American population. Although the reason for this is unclear, the lack of studies that address cultural disparities surrounding asthma may show to be significantly important. Research has shown that words used by patients to describe symptoms are culturally sensitive. It is therefore logical to predict that a more culturally sensitive asthma questionnaire may be beneficial.

Keywords: Asthma, Word descriptors, Culture, Asthma Control Questionnaire, Perception, Communication, Asthma symptoms, African American, Ethnicity, Lung function, Genetics.