title: Evaluation of a pilot national online asthma e-learning program for secondary school students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ireland has the fourth highest incidence of asthma in the world, with Irish children losing on average 10 days of school per annum due to their asthma. It is highly probable that a large percentage of students in each class in Irish schools have asthma and are required to manage symptoms during the out-of-home period. Young people with chronic illnesses such as asthma find themselves labelled and marginalized due to a lack of awareness of others about their condition.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Young people who feel supported by their peers have been shown to have higher levels of self-efficacy and fewer exacerbations of their asthma symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  An on-line asthma e-learning program was developed to provide support to teenagers who have asthma, and help them inform their classmates and friends about asthma. A quasi-experimental approach was used to pilot the educational intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results of the pilot demonstrate that the program is effective. Teenagers who have asthma found the e-learning program to be informative and relevant to them. The increase in awareness of asthma among teenagers who did not have asthma is shown to influence their confidence in assisting their peers who are experiencing asthma symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Asthma Society of Ireland and School of Nursing and Midwifery, University College Cork , Ireland and.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001249:Asthma / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007494:Ireland; D008297:Male; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D012648:Self Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires