University Honors

Childhood asthma is a prevalent problem in the United States and is an illness that takesthe lives of many children every year. Children who live around the Salton Sea, a drying lake bedfilled with chemicals from agricultural runoff, have a rate of childhood asthma around twentypercent (double the national average). As the Sea’s lake bed dries, chemicals from the water arereleased into the air, contributing to increased childhood asthma and related chronic healthconditions. The population living next to the Salton Sea is mainly Latinx and IndigenousMexican. The goal of my capstone project will be to examine how race/ethnicity contributes tochildhood asthma conditions and why it matters. I will join an existing research project,Childhood Asthma and the Salton Sea, and join the project activity to collect data. I willregularly attend Community Advisory Board (CAB) meetings with caregivers and healthcareprofessionals focused on environmental and childhood asthma. Likewise, I will also participatein community talks with healthcare providers and caregivers of children with asthma. Duringthese activities, I will take notes and observe the role race/ethnicity plays in childhood asthma. Iwill be analyzing existing survey data about race/ethnicity, environment, and child health. Ianticipate finding a relationship between race/ethnicity and the rate of childhood asthma in theSalton Sea area. The findings will be important in raising awareness of the role of race/ethnicityin childhood asthma.