Asthma and the School Teacher: The Status of Teacher Preparedness and Training

Knowledge of asthma in school teachers in nine Spanish cities

“…In other published studies performed using different methodology, they also show a low level of knowledge of the disease among teachers, with a disparity of results in the concepts analyzed. In general, in countries with high childhood asthma prevalence, such as Australia and New Zealand, the teachers were only relatively informed.…”

Asthma Prevalence, Management, and Education in New York State Elementary Schools: A Survey of School Nurses

“…About half of nurses reported that asthma-related equipment such as spacers (45.2%) and nebulizers (59.7%) was available at school. Additionally, in more than half of responding schools, nurses indicated that staff and students were taught about asthma, an important part of asthma management in the school setting (Neuharth-Pritchett & Getch, 2001).…”

“…For a child to function normally in school and to experience as few of the negative side effects of asthma as possible, it is important for school personnel to be educated about asthma. Well-informed teachers can play an important role in a school asthma management program by helping to recognize asthma symptoms, helping to prevent asthma exacerbations, and reducing asthma triggers in the classroom (Harris, 2002; Neuharth-Pritchett & Getch, 2001). Because some students experience a worsening of their asthma with exercise, it is also important for the physical education teacher to be educated regarding asthma and to be aware of students who have asthma and the kind of exercise in which they can engage.…”

School-Centered Asthma Programs

“…Study personnel providing the intervention ranged from certified asthma educators to school nurses to health professional students to lay providers. 11,36,[58][59][60] Despite the importance of intervention from school staff, few interventions have targeted this important group. Although several randomized controlled trials have been conducted, limitations remain: studies do not clearly describe usual care; several studies included students with mild asthma and did not perform subgroup analyses to determine if asthma severity, asthma control, age, race/ ethnicity, socioeconomic status or location (inner-city, suburban, city, rural) predicted interventional response; studies were often limited in their ability to draw conclusions about differences between comparison groups due to a lack of power with smaller sample sizes; and studies did not include a follow-up period to determine if improvements continue, are sustained or regress.…”