title: Evaluation of an education program for elementary school children with asthma.
abstract: To evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive asthma management education program for 7- to 12-year-old children with asthma, entitled Roaring Adventures of Puff (RAP), 18 elementary schools in Edmonton were randomized to intervention and control groups. Participating in the program were 76 students with asthma in the intervention schools and 86 in the control schools. Children in the intervention schools had statistically significant improvements in unscheduled doctor visits, missed school days, moderate-to-severe parent rating of severity, severity of shortness of breath, limitations in the kind of play, and correct use of medications. Unscheduled doctor visits and missed school days were the only significant improvements in the control group; however, improvements were about half that of the intervention group. The results showed that a comprehensive, school-based asthma education program is feasible and improves outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Alberta Asthma Centre, Faculty of Nursing, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. smcghan@ualberta.ca
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: MeGhan
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Jhangri
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Michaelchuk
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Boechler
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Befus
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Hessel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000628:therapy*; D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019468:Disease Management; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011788:Quality of Life; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016896:Treatment Outcome