Tod Mijanovich
Research Assistant Professor


DatePublication/Paper
2008

Weitzman, B.C., Silver, D., Mijanovich, T. & Brazill, C. 2008. If You Build It, Will They Come? Estimating Unmet Demand for After-School Programs in America’s Distressed Cities. Youth and Society.
View publication
Abstract

Telephone-survey data were gathered from parents and youth in five of America's largest and most distressed cities to estimate unmet demand for after-school programs. Unmet demand was conceptualized as a function of low utilization and dissatisfaction with one's current arrangement; furthermore, the authors argue that dissatisfaction must stem from something that can be addressed through changes in policy or programs. Large numbers of parents of children who infrequently use after-school programs were found to indicate that they would increase utilization if there were improvements in the quality, access, or types of programming. However, large numbers of parents whose children do not participate or participate infrequently in after-school programs were also found to express satisfaction with their arrangement and indicated that they do not wish to change it. Expanding services with the assumption that children from these families will participate may be misguided.

2006

Shalowitz, M., T. Mijanovich, Berry, C., Clark-Kauffman, E., Perez, E. & Quinn, K. 2006. Context Matters: A Community-Based Study of Maternal Mental Health, Life Stressors, Social Support and Children's Asthma. Pediatrics Vol. 117, pp. 940-948.
View Publication
Abstract

Objective. Recent national survey data indicate an overall asthma prevalence of 12.2% for children who are younger than 18 years. Previous research in clinical samples of children with asthma suggests that their mothers are at greater risk for symptoms of depression. We describe the relationship between maternal symptoms of depression and having a child with asthma in a community-based sample.

Methods. After a school-based ascertainment of asthma and asthma symptoms in 15 low-income, racially/ethnically diverse public elementary schools, 1149 eligible mothers agreed to participate in a longitudinal study. Mothers either had a child with previously diagnosed asthma or a child with symptoms consistent with possible asthma or were in the randomly selected comparison group in which no child in the household had asthma. During the first interview, mothers responded to questions about their own life stressors, supports and mental health, and their children's health.

Results. In bivariate analyses of a community-based sample of children who share low-income neighborhoods, mothers of children with diagnosed or with possible undiagnosed asthma had more symptoms of depression than did mothers of children who have no asthma. Mothers of children with diagnosed or with possible undiagnosed asthma also experienced more life stressors than did mothers of children without asthma. Using nested linear regression, we estimated a model of maternal symptoms of depression. Most of the variation in Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression score was accounted for by life stressors and social support. There were no independent effects of either asthma status or asthma status-specific child health status on maternal symptoms of depression.

Conclusion. Children who are under care for chronic conditions such as asthma live and manage their illness outside the clinical setting. Their social context matters, and maternal mental health is related to their children's physical health. Although having a child with asthma may be "just" another stressor in the mother's social context, complex treatment plans must be followed despite the many other pressures of neighborhood and family lives.

 











Contact Details

tod.mijanovich@nyu.edu
212-998-7467
Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street, Room 2303
Office Hours: Mondays 4-6pm or by appointment
Add to Contacts/Outlook

Areas of Expertise

  • Evaluation
  • Health Management
  • Health Policy
  • Management
  • Politics
  • Poverty
  • Race, Class, & Diversity