title: Happy air®, a successful school-based asthma educational and interventional program for primary school children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To investigate whether an active partnership between schools, parents, and pediatricians can improve the management of asthma and quality of life of children with asthma.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive asthma program (Happy Air®), based on a strong family-physician-school relationship, was carried out over a period of 3 years in six primary schools (2765 children). This program provides educational intervention to families, school staff, and students, as well as the administration of written questionnaires to identify children with asthma, asthma diagnosis and management, and, last but not least, extracurricular activities to improve respiratory and psychological conditions. Quality of life of children and parents, at the beginning and end of the program, was assessed using PedsQL™ 4.0 (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory) measurement model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Asthma was diagnosed in 135 children, of which 37 (27%) were diagnosed de novo. In all children, both single item and total clinical asthma scores showed a significant increase (p < .001) at the end of the Happy Air® program. The average scores of both the total PedsQL™ 4.0 and the four Scales were significantly increased (p < .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Happy Air® is a model for a strategy of education- and school-based intervention for children with asthma and their families. This multi-action program for diagnosis, clinical follow-up, education, self-management, and quality-of-life control aims to minimize the socioeconomic burden of asthma disease.
authors.affiliation: Allergologia ed Immunologia Pediatrica, Policlinico Tor Vergata, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy. chini@med.uniroma2.it
authors.forename: Loredana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chini
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Iannini
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chianca
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Corrente
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Graziani
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: La Rocca
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Borruto
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Napoli
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Angelini
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Visconti
authors.forename: Viviana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Moschese
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D005190:Family; D006266:Health Education; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012574:Schools; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013147:Spirometry; D013334:Students