Clearing The Dust: Asthma Program Educates Community

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Also Included In: Nursing / Midwifery;  Allergy
Article Date: 29 Jan 2009 - 3:00 PDT


Using a Florida elementary school as a testing site, researchers have found that a targeted asthma education program effectively increased understanding and dispelled some prevalent myths about this common childhood disease.

In the November-December 2008 issue of Pediatric Nursing, Dorothy Brooten and her co-authors report on results from the "Healthy Children, Healthy Homes" community asthma education program they developed.

The prevalence of asthma (as high as 20% among urban children in New York City) and the challenge of identifying potential cases "suggest that broader intervention strategies could be more effective," Brooten writes. Increasing community awareness seemed to be the answer, thus the choice of a school-based program with a direct pipeline to the local population.

Under the program, the researchers held two education sessions for adults taught by RNs, encouraging them to reach out and educate family, friends, co-workers and others. The researchers also held an education session and an asthma fair for the children.

They conducted surveys before and after the sessions. Results showed the program "successfully permeated the school community" with more people recognizing asthma triggers and sorting out misconceptions. Participants also learned such effective prevention strategies as reducing smoking, putting pets outdoors and keeping houses clean from dust and roach droppings.

For nurses involved in community education, the combination of adult and child education with community outreach "can be a very effective method to increase the dissemination of health information," Brooten says.

"Outcomes of an Asthma Program: Healthy Children, Healthy Homes" Dorothy Brooten, PhD, RN, FAAN, et al.
Pediatric Nursing, November-December 2008;
http://www.pediatricnursing.net

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