There is both a higher asthma pevalence and mortality rate among Puerto Rican children than any other ethnic group in the United States. The disparity has been attributed to a variety of genetic and environmental factors. However, sociocultural factors also play a large role in a patient's understanding of their illness. Studies have shown that up to 89% of Hispanic patients are familiar with ethnomedical remedies for asthma. The aim of this study is to identify which alternative medical practices Puerto Rican families use in the treatment of their child's asthma. This knowledge will ultimately be used in order for clinicians to tailor education and clinical management of asthma for this population. In order to ascertain this data, surveys were created based on folk remedies recorded in previous medical-anthropological literature. The surveys are four pages long and assess a variety of ethnomedical practices for both the prevention and treatment of asthma attacks, as well as demographic information about the caregiver. The IRB-approved surveys are being distributed to eligible participants (parents of asthmatic children ages 2-18 who self-identify as Puerto Rican) in the asthma clinic at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. To date, about thirty surveys have been conducted. When the goal of 135 completed surveys has been reached, statistical techniques will be will be carried out in order to identify trends in folk remedy use for the treatment of asthma for the Puerto Rican population served by St.Christopher's Hospital.
