Abstract
Background: Asthma is common among urban school-age children. Though teachers should be prepared to assist children during an asthma attack, studies show they lack self-efficacy in managing asthma. Objective: To assess feasibility of implementing an asthma workshop for elementary school teachers, describe themes of questions raised, and determine workshop’s impact on teachers’ comfort and self-efficacy in asthma management. Methods: We developed and implemented an asthma workshop for teachers from four Bronx elementary schools (2012–2014). Teachers completed a questionnaire evaluating their comfort and self-efficacy in asthma management before and after the workshop. Questions asked during the sessions were recorded and analyzed for themes. Paired t-test and McNemar tests compared before/after scores. Results: 65 out of 70 teachers (92.9%) participated in the educational sessions. Teachers asked questions about school policy for inhalers, medication administration guidelines, and physical activity and asthma. 64/65 (98.5%) teachers completed pre/post surveys (mean age 39.7 years; mean years at the school 8.0). Post-intervention, more teachers reported knowing how to manage an asthma attack (93.8% vs. 64.1%, p <.0001); and felt comfortable assessing (50.8% vs. 30.8%, p = 0.019) and handling an asthma attack (52.3% vs. 33.8%, p =.023). The overall mean self-efficacy score increased post-intervention (43.0 vs. 38.1, p <.0001), as did 8/12 individual self-efficacy items. Post-workshop, 95.3% of teachers agreed that teacher in-service asthma education should be done annually. Conclusions: An asthma workshop was successfully implemented in the school setting and improved teacher comfort and self-efficacy in managing asthma. Annual training may improve teachers’ confidence in assisting students with asthma.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 1237-1243 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Asthma |
Volume | 57 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 1 2020 |
Keywords
- Elementary schools
- NCT01873755, clinicaltrials.gov
- asthma
- children
- inner city
- workshop
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Immunology and Allergy
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine