Effect of education on school-age children's and parents' asthma management.
OBJECTIVE
Asthma affects 7.4% of school-age children, with poor children or members of ethnic minorities disproportionately affected.


METHODS
A quasiexperimental, year-long pilot study tested the effectiveness of an intervention that included school-based small-group education for children with home-based education for parents. Pretest and two posttest measures were collected.


RESULTS
Forty-four families completed the study (41% African American, 36% European American, 23% Mexican American), with 46% coming from poor or working-class families. Asthma management in the treatment group was lower than the comparison group at baseline, but improved significantly at 6 months and stabilized at 12 months, a trend that was most pronounced among the poorer children.


CONCLUSIONS
Improvements in asthma management point to the need for ongoing asthma education to address learning needs of the children and families.
Homer
Sharon D
SD
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. s.horner@mail.utexas.edu
D000041:Absenteeism; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D001249:Asthma / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D017145:Models, Educational; D020380:Needs Assessment; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012573:School Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013664:Teaching Materials / Q000592:standards; D044465:White People / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology