Happy Air: a school-based educational program to maximize detection of asthma in children.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether an active partnership among school, parents, and pediatricians allows early identification and treatment of asthmatic children.


METHODS
An asthma educational program (Happy Air), based on a strong family-physician-school interrelationship, was performed in six primary schools (2,765 children) before administering a screening questionnaire to the parents.


RESULTS
A high response rate (96%) demonstrated 2,649 responders available for the asthma screening: 135 children (5%) received a diagnosis of asthma, of which 37 (27%) were recognized de novo.


CONCLUSIONS
The active participation of school and parents is the determining factor for the success of an asthma screening program.
Chini
L
L
Policlinico Tor Vergata, Centro Interdisciplinare di Pediatria Specialistica-Allergologia e Immunologia, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy. chini@med.uniroma2.it
Borruto
M
M
Chianca
M
M
Corrente
S
S
Graziani
S
S
Iannini
R
R
La Rocca
M
M
Angelini
F
F
Roscioni
S
S
Visconti
G
G
Moschese
V
V
D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008403:Mass Screening; D010290:Parents; D010821:Physicians, Family; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires