Early intervention for asthma exacerbation in school-age children

Abstract

<p>Session presented on Friday, July 24, 2015:</p> <p><strong>Purpose:</strong> To prevent school age (Hereafter known as students) children from having chronic and troublesome symptoms. To maintain student's lung function as close to normal as possible. To help maintain normal physical activity levels (including exercise) as possible. To prevent recurrent attacks and to reduce the need for emergency department visits and/or hospitalizations. To provide medications that gives the best results with the fewer side effects.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> An experimental design study with level one evidence was conducted to determine the effect of asthma intervention program in schools. A self-administered questionnaire was used to measured five variables that includes knowledge, attitude toward asthma, quality of life, self-efficacy, and self-management behaviors.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> The result for this intervention was adopted as part of the routine care management of childhood asthma in general throughout this program. And 80% decrease in school absents and emergency room visit was recorded.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Every one of the twenty-four students selected now has an asthma action plan on file. A new policy now in place that requires nurses to initiate a phone interview with the parents of all asthmatic students and to complete /sign off on each step of the newly developed check list and asthma action plan.</p>