Chest
Clinical InvestigationsBreaking the Access Barrier
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
A randomized controlled trial of an elementary school-based asthma education program was conducted with children with asthma in a large suburb of Toronto. Approval for conducting the study was received by the participating school board and the Ethics Review Committee of the Credit Valley Hospital (Mississauga, ON, Canada). Parents and children provided informed consent and assent, respectively. Children were eligible for inclusion if they were enrolled in grades 2 through 5 in a participating
Results
Of the 256 children with asthma and their parents who were recruited into the study, 239 completed it (control group, 118 children; experimental group, 121 children). Eight children and their parents were lost to follow-up after the 6-month data collection interview (control group, six children; experimental group, two children). For the experimental group, nine children withdrew from the study prior to receiving the educational program because of conflicts with other activities during the
Discussion
Children with asthma experience an unnecessary burden of illness, which can be mitigated through the known benefits of asthma education programs. The school is an excellent environment in which to educate children with asthma and to learn about their approach to managing the condition. The provision of asthma education to patients is often suboptimal, and the health-care system can pose access barriers. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether the provision of an asthma
Conclusion
The current study demonstrates that a school-based asthma education program delivered by certified asthma educators from a local asthma center can lead to benefits for the children affected by asthma. Specifically, children who attended the education program demonstrated increases in self-efficacy and quality of life, and reductions in urgent health-care use, school absenteeism, and number of days of interrupted activity. It is important to note that this project was performed in a suburban
References (33)
- et al.
Evaluation of a school-based asthma education program for inner-city children
J Allergy Clin Immunol
(1997) - et al.
Effects of a comprehensive school-based asthma program on symptoms, parent management, grades, and absenteeism
Chest
(2004) - et al.
The ‘Roaring Adventures of Puff’: a childhood asthma education program
J Pediatr Health Care
(1998) - et al.
The role of behavioural theories in educational interventions for paediatric asthma
Paediatr Respir Rev
(2003) - et al.
Determining a minimal important change in a disease-specific quality of life instrument
J Clin Epidemiol
(1994) - et al.
Childhood asthma in sentinel health units: a report from the 95–96 Student Lung Health Survey
(1998) - et al.
Tracking pediatric asthma: the Massachusetts experience using school health records
Environ Health Perspect
(2004) - et al.
Trends in environmentally related childhood illnesses
Pediatrics
(2004) - et al.
Prevalence, impact, and trends in childhood disability due to asthma
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med
(2000) - Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Ontario. ICES practice atlas 2nd ed.1996 Institute for Clinical...
An economic evaluation of asthma in the United States
N Engl J Med
A comparison of absentee rates of elementary school children with asthma and non-asthmatic schoolmates
Pediatrics
Control of asthma in Canada: failure to achieve guideline targets
Can Respir J
Effects of educational interventions for self management of asthma in children and adolescents: systematic review and meta-analysis
BMJ
Educational interventions for asthma in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev (database online)
Educating school personnel about asthma
J Asthma
Cited by (75)
The effects of motivational interviewing on hypertension management: A systematic review and meta-analysis
2023, Patient Education and CounselingThe effect of asthma specialist intervention on asthma control among adults
2022, World Allergy Organization JournalApplying dissemination and implementation research methods to translate a school-based asthma program
2022, Journal of Allergy and Clinical ImmunologyDevelopmentally appropriate supported self-management for children and young people with chronic conditions: A consensus
2020, Patient Education and CounselingPatient education for children with interstitial lung diseases and their caregivers: A pilot study
2019, Patient Education and Counseling
Partnership funding was received from The Change Foundation, Credit Valley Hospital, Asthma Society, University of Toronto, and the Ontario Lung Association. Dr. Lisa Cicutto was supported by a Career Scientist Award from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.
The results and conclusions of this research are those of the authors; no official endorsement by the Ministry is intended or should be inferred.
Reproduction of this article is prohibited without written permission from the American College of Chest Physicians (www.chestjournal.org/misc/reprints.shtml).