Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2006 Aug;76(6):291-6.
doi: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2006.00114.x.

Outcomes for a comprehensive school-based asthma management program

Lynn B Gerald  1 , David Redden, Angelina R Wittich, Coralie Hains, Anne Turner-Henson, Mary P Hemstreet, Ronald Feinstein, Sue Erwin, William C Bailey
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Outcomes for a comprehensive school-based asthma management program

Lynn B Gerald et al. J Sch Health. 2006 Aug.

Abstract

This article describes the evaluation of a comprehensive school-based asthma management program in an inner-city, largely African-American school system. All 54 elementary schools (combined enrollment 13,247 students) from a single urban school system participated in this study. Schools were randomly divided between immediate and delayed intervention programs. The intervention consisted of 3 separate educational programs (for school faculty/staff, students with asthma, and peers without asthma) and medical management for the children with asthma (including an Individual Asthma Action Plan, medications, and peakflow meters). Children with asthma were identified using a case detection program and 736 were enrolled into the intervention study. No significant differences were observed in school absences, grade point average, emergency room visits, or hospitalizations between the immediate and delayed intervention groups. Significant increases in knowledge were observed in the immediate intervention group. This study of a school-based asthma management education and medical intervention program did not show any differences between the intervention and control groups on morbidity outcomes. Our experience leads us to believe that such measures are difficult to impact and are not always reliable. Future researchers should be aware of the problems associated with using such measures. In addition, connecting children with a regular source of health care in this population was difficult. More intensive methods of medical management, such as school-based health centers or supervised asthma therapy, might prove more effective in inner-city schools.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pre- and Postintervention Mean Knowledge Scores by School (grades 1-3)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pre- and Postintervention Mean Knowledge Scores by School (grade 4)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Newacheck PW, Taylor WR. Childhood chronic illness: prevalence, severity, and impact. Am J Public Health. 2003;82:364–371. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mannino DM, Homa DM, Akinbami LJ, Moorman J, Gwynn C, Redd S. Surveillance for asthma—United States, 1980-1999. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2002;51(SS1):1–13. - PubMed
    1. Weitzman M, Gortmaker SL, Sobol AM, Perrin JM. Recent trends in the prevalence and severity of childhood asthma. JAMA. 1992;268:2673–2677. - PubMed
    1. Akinbami LJ, Schoendorf KC. Trends in childhood asthma: prevalence, health care utilization, and mortality. Pediatrics. 2002;110:315–322. - PubMed
    1. Lanphear BP, Aligne CA, Auinger P, Weitzman M, Byrd RS. Residential exposures associated with asthma in US children. Pediatrics. 2001;107:505–511. - PubMed

Publication types