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Project Name: Pediatric Pulmonary Centers (T72)
Applicant Title: UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
Abstract Text: For the past 25 years, The University of Arizona Pediatric Pulmonary Center (UAPPC) has been working to make quality pediatric pulmonology services more available and accessible for children with special health care needs in HRSA Region IX. The UAPPC is requesting grant funds to continue that effort during the period 2025-2030. There is a significant mismatch between the prevalence of children with respiratory diseases in the U.S. and the numbers and distribution of health care professionals with the skills to treat them. The 2022-2023 National Survey of Children’s Health identified over 5,050,000 million children nationally who have frequent/chronic difficulty with breathing or other respiratory problems, and almost 4,800,000 million children who are currently suffering from asthma. While the need for pediatric pulmonology services is great, the number of providers is relatively small. This mismatch is especially true in HRSA Region IX. The region covers a wide-spread geographic area that encompasses the states of Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada, and includes many rural and Pacific Ocean island communities. In 2023, there were 1.5 pediatric pulmonologists per 100,000 children in the United States, but in California and Hawaii, there were only 1.3 per 100,000, in Arizona only 1.1 per 100,000 and in Nevada only 0.7 per 100,000. The clustering of these specialists in a few, mainly urban, counties creates barriers to accessing services for much of the region. The diversity of the population and the proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border adds to the region’s unique character and health care delivery challenges. The UAPPC program is focused on developing a cadre of health care providers who will improve the care and health status of children and families with chronic respiratory conditions throughout the region. Responding to the shortage of pediatric pulmonologists, the UAPPC aims to cultivate physicians, nurse practitioners, nutritionists, social workers, family leaders, and clinical pharmacists who understand the complex issues facing children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and their families, and who can provide leadership in making knowledgeable, interdisciplinary, family-centered care more readily available to children with chronic respiratory conditions. This will be accomplished by delivering an interdisciplinary leadership training program to develop the capabilities of future health practitioners at the graduate and post graduate level, by cultivating the involvement of CYSCHN family members to improve service delivery, and by making continuing education and technical assistance available throughout the region.