Professor receives NIH research grant to study work-related asthma risks among nurses

Key takeaways:

• The researcher is at the University of Arizona.
• The grant will fund research on work-related asthma risks due to cleaning products.
• The research also aims to improve public health protocols.

A researcher from the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health received a $750,000 NIH grant to study the asthma risks associated with cleaning and disinfecting agents commonly used by nurses.

According to a university press release, Amanda Wilson, PhD, an assistant professor at the school’s department of community, environment and policy, will use the 5-year National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute grant to gather data to advance methodologies that would help nurses with the occupational risks of respiratory disease while also guiding public health policy.

“Translating these concerns into cleaning and disinfection protocol changes is challenging due to logistical constraints and the lack of awareness about asthma risks,” Wilson said in the press release.

There is an inherent “risk-risk tradeoff” during cleaning processes in health care facilities, the university said in the press release, with increased use of these products leading to increased work-related asthma risks and decreased occupational-infection risks.

In a preliminary survey, the university found that nurses generally were willing to increase their infection risks in order to maintain a lower risk for asthma if they thought they would recover.

As Healio has previously reported, studies have shown that occupational exposures to irritants are associated with adult-onset asthma and the frequent use of disinfectants and cleaning products is associated with uncontrolled asthma.

Wilson’s study, of which she is the principal investigator, is also being funded by a K01 Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award.

Reference:

• Reference NIH grant funds research on work-related asthma among nurses. https://healthsciences.arizona.edu/news/releases/nih-grant-funds-research-work-related-asthma-among-nurses. Published March 20, 2024. Accessed April 2, 2024.