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Summaries of Independent Scientist (K) Awards

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Wisnivesky, Juan

Institution: Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Grant Title: Determinants of Asthma Morbidity in an Urban Population
Grant Number: K08 HS013312
Duration: 4 years (2003-2007)
Total Award: $639,225

Project Description: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the factors contributing to asthma morbidity in inner-city minority populations. There were four main goals:

To develop an instrument to measure patient adherence to asthma control medications.
To determine the relative contribution of low adherence to medications, inadequate patient-provider communication, and poor access to care to poor asthma outcomes.
To test if sensitization and indoor exposure to cockroach allergen result in increased asthma morbidity.
To develop the protocol and perform pilot testing of an intervention to improve the outcomes of adult inner-city asthmatics.

Career Goals: Dr. Wisnivesky is a Professor and Attending Physician at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. He received his M.D. from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina where he also did his residency in Internal Medicine. He then served as a Fellow in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Wisnivesky went on to earn is M.P.H. in biostatistics from Columbia University.

Progress to Date: This K08 award has been successfully completed. This study showed that several key beliefs about medications are strongly associated and may predict adherence to asthma controller medications. Additionally, inner-city asthmatics with limited English proficiency have significantly poor asthma control, higher rates of resource utilization, and a lower quality of life.

K-Generated Publications:

Halm E, Wisnivesky J, Leventhal H. Quality and access to care among a cohort of inner city adults with asthma: Who gets guideline concordant care? Chest 2005. 128:1943-50.

Wisnivesky J, Leventhal H, Halm E. A prospective study of predictors of asthma-related health care utilization and quality of life among inner city asthmatics. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2005. 116:636-42.

Wisnivesky J, Halm E. Sex differences in lung cancer survival: Do tumors behave differently in elderly women? Journal of Clinical Oncology 2007. 25(13):1705-12.

Wisnivesky J, Sampson H, Berns S, et al. Lack of association between indoor allergen sensitization and asthma morbidity in inner-city adults. Clinical Immunology 2007. 120:113-120.

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