Using school staff to establish a preventive network of care to improve elementary school students' control of asthma.

School-based asthma interventions delivered by nonschool staff have been successful but are limited in their reach because of the cost and effort of bringing in outside educators and their inability to establish improved communication about asthma between schools, families, and primary care providers (PCPs). To address these problems, Columbia University and the New York City Department of Education and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene undertook a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of a comprehensive school-based asthma program. In this intervention, school nurses were trained to facilitate the establishment of a preventive network of care for children with asthma by coordinating communications and fostering relationships between families, PCPs, and school personnel.

Asthma education: the adolescent experience.

Recent studies show that prevalence of asthma is higher among adolescents than children. Adolescents have poor asthma self-management skills resulting in a significant increase in the severity of asthma exacerbations and a reduction in their quality of life. Despite this, few self-management programs have been developed for adolescents.

Using a matrix as an educational approach to asthma.

Health care providers agree that asthma care must be individualized to fit the need of the child and family. A written plan in the form of a matrix enables the health care provider to give families a step-by-step individualized plan of care for asthma. This article discusses the use of a long-term treatment plan in matrix form as an educational tool for health care providers and for families.