Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
School Nurse Perspectives on the Barriers and Facilitators to School-Supervised Asthma TherapyBackground: Asthma Link is a program that aims to increase adherence to inhaled corticosteroids among children with persistent asthma by delivering evidence-based school-supervised therapy. This program, which leverages existing infrastructure, improves asthma outcomes in children from low-income, minority families. Our aim was to elicit the perspectives of school nurses who supervise preventive medication administration. Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 school nurses participating in Asthma Link. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes related to barriers and facilitators to preventive medication delivery. Results: Barriers described by school nurses included communication challenges with families and providers, inconsistent supplies of the preventive medicine at school, and the perception by some families and nurses that preventive therapy should be provided at home. Facilitators included the ease of incorporating preventive medication delivery into morning routines, recognizing the positive impacts on children from families with limited resources, feeling part of the preventive health care team, and being well-positioned to engage families in preventive asthma care. Conclusions: To facilitate Asthma Link adoption, it is critical to incorporate school nurse feedback in the program’s protocol refinement. School-supervised asthma therapy programs are advised to engage school nurses in the opportunity to provide preventive care, streamline communication, and address social and logistical challenges which may impede families from bringing medication to school.
-
School-supervised Asthma Therapy is Associated with Improved Long-Term Asthma Outcomes for Underrepresented Minority ChildrenAsthma morbidity disproportionately impacts children from low-income and racial/ethnic minority communities. School-supervised asthma therapy improves asthma outcomes for up to 15 months for underrepresented minority children, but little is known about whether these benefits are sustained over time. We examined the frequency of emergency department (ED) visits and hospital admissions for 83 children enrolled in Asthma Link, a school nurse-supervised asthma therapy program serving predominantly underrepresented minority children. We compared outcomes between the year preceding enrollment and years one-four post-enrollment. Compared with the year prior to enrollment, asthma-related ED visits decreased by 67.9% at one year, 59.5% at two years, 70.2% at three years, and 50% at four years post-enrollment (all p-values < 0.005). There were also significant declines in mean numbers of total ED visits, asthma-related hospital admissions, and total hospital admissions. Our results indicate that school nurse-supervised asthma therapy could potentially mitigate racial/ethnic and socioeconomic inequities in childhood asthma.
-
School Based Pediatric Asthma Surveillance in MassachusettsAsthma remains one of the most common chronic diseases among children in the United States today. Surveillance is limited to national and state estimates which can vary over time and by population (CDC/NCHS, National Health Interview Survey, 2012). It is estimated that anywhere from 14% to 50% of children with asthma remain undiagnosed. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Bureau of Environmental Health (MDPH/BEH) has been conducting a successful and comprehensive statewide school-based asthma surveillance program since 2002. Partnering with school nurses throughout the state, we request aggregate information via a one-page survey. The survey is distributed to all public, private, charter and virtual schools in Massachusetts (n=1800). Variables collected include number of students with asthma by gender, grade (K-8), race/ethnicity and community of residence. Therefore, we can estimate prevalence by school and community. Now entering the 15th year, the program has a near 100% survey response rate. This successful surveillance effort reveals a statewide asthma prevalence of 12.4%, one of the highest rates in the nation and suggests approximately 85,000 students in Massachusetts carry the diagnosis. Furthermore, trends over the last 10 years of data collection indicate asthma to be higher among males than females for this age group (~5-14). School-based pediatric asthma surveillance demonstrates the important role school nurses play in surveillance. The feasibility of using school health records as a secondary data source will be highlighted as a reliable, aggregate, community-based source of data.
