%0 Generic
%9 Master's Thesis
%A Sossong, Nicole
%D 2018
%F pittir:34144
%K Public Health; Asthma; Children
%T School-based asthma programs: A literature analysis
%U http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/34144/
%X Asthma is a respiratory disease that impairs the quality of life of children across the United States. A higher percentage of children than adults have been diagnosed with asthma, and minority and low socioeconomic populations are disproportionally affected by the disease. Although medications and techniques are available to control asthma, many children continue to experience asthma symptoms. Uncontrolled asthma has a lasting and irreversible effect on the child’s respiratory system. Asthma exacerbations lead to unplanned medical care including hospitalizations and increased health care costs. Asthma is the number one chronic disease reason for absenteeism among children in the United States.  School-based health programs provide the connection between a student and his or her family, the school nurse, and the child’s health care provider. By offering a health program at school, barriers to asthma care can be reduced.   A literature search was completed to seek the most effective school-based asthma programs. The search results were analyzed for their effectiveness in producing improved individual asthma outcomes. A rubric, adapted from the CDC’s Guide to the Continuum of Evidence on Effectiveness, was used to identify each program’s level of effectiveness. The results were analyzed for the components of successful for school-based asthma program. The school-based asthma programs showed that programs that included supervised medication administration produced the highest effect rating.  Public Health Statement:  I provided additional recommendations, informed by the literature analysis, on the key components to a school-based asthma program and how to design the most effective study design. In order to effectively reduce asthma health outcomes among children and produce reliable results, programs should be a randomized control and longitudinal design, be rooted in a formal theory such as the Social Cognitive Theory, have independent replications, high implementation guidance, and be able to show external and ecological validity through implementation with multiple different populations in a “real-world” setting.