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School Asthma Program
Improves Health and Grades
A comprehensive school-based asthma
management program improved health status and school performance
of children with asthma, particularly those with persistent disease,
according to a new study.
The findings, which appear in the
medical journal Chest, are based on a study of 835 asthmatic children
in grades 2 through 5 in 14 schools in low-income communities
in Detroit, Michigan.
School-based asthma programs, "can
help children with asthma experience fewer symptoms and do better
at school," Dr. Noreen M. Clark from the University of Michigan
School of Public Health stated. "Since resources are always scarce,
focusing such a program on children with persistent disease can
produce the best results," she added.
The aim of the program is education
of the asthmatic child to improve their skills in managing the
disease. A series of components targets key people in the child's
social environment -- parents, classmates, and school personnel
-- who can also assist.
Seven schools (416 children) were
randomly assigned to the intervention program and another 7 schools
(419 children) were wait-listed for the program and served as
the "controls." Interviews were conducted with parents and school
personnel at the start of the program and two years later.
The results showed that children
with persistent asthma who were assigned to the school-based program
had significant declines in both daytime and night-time symptoms
(14 percent fewer episodes for both).
Among children with both mild intermittent
and persistent disease, those in the intervention group had 17
percent fewer daytime asthma symptoms, but 40 percent more night-time
symptoms. The authors believe that the intervention program "may
have stimulated attention to symptoms at night by parents of children
with mild intermittent disease."
Intervention children also posted
higher grades in science, but not in reading, math, or physical
education. School absenteeism rates did not differ between the
groups, however, parents of intervention children reported 34
percent fewer asthma-related absences in the previous 3 months
and 8 percent fewer in the preceding 12 months.
In conclusion, Clark emphasized
that "implementing such a program is not difficult, especially
if a group like the American Lung Association can provide volunteers
who can be trained to work in the school."
SOURCE: Chest, May 2004.
Reference
Source 89
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