Carol Pollock, RN, MSN, FNP, Division of Child and Adolescent Health, Virginia Department of Health, PO Box 2448, 1500 E. Main St, Rm 138, Richmond, VA 23218, 804-371-4796, cpollock@vdh.state.va.us, Gwen P. Smith, RN, MSN, School Health Services, Virginia Department of Education, P.O. Box 2120, Richmond, VA 23218, Adrienne Sheldon-Keller, PhD, Division of Prevention Research, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 800623, Charlottesville, VA 22908, and Elizabeth L. McGarvey, EdD, Division of Prevention Research, Dept. of Psychiatric Medicine, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 800623, Charlotesville, VA 22908.

Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease among children worldwide. In children younger than 15 in the U.S., asthma accounts for 3 million physician visits, 570,000 ED visits, 164,000 hospital stays, 8.7 million prescriptions and 10 million missed school days per year. , Asthma can present as an acute medical emergency that can be life-threatening if not responded to promptly and correctly. With prompt and appropriate response, most acute asthma attacks can be treated effectively without hospitalization or serious threat to the child’s life. School age children typically spend at least 30 hours per week, or approximately 40% of their weekday waking hours, in school. Despite this, most school personnel receive no training or information on responding appropriately to childhood asthma. Guidelines for Managing Asthma in Virginia Schools: A Team Approach was created to address this problem. The specific goals include creating a school-based asthma management team and providing information on (1) the disease process, (2) treatment and (3) appropriate responses for various school personnel. The manual was designed to include response directive pages for every staff member in school environments, from administrators and teachers to bus drivers, janitors and food preparation staff. In the development of the manual, careful attention was paid to cultural and linguistic appropriateness. This presentation will describe the process of creating the manual, the contents of the manual, the distribution and training protocol, including preparation of a training CD, and the ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness.

Learning Objectives:

• Articulate the current epidemiology of asthma in school age children in the United States and the consequent impact on school staff.
• Articulate the reasons while all school staff need to be trained to respond appropriately to children with asthma.
• List at least five necessary components for a school asthma manual.
• Describe an appropriate implementation and staff training process to support a school asthma manual.
• List at least two specific outcomes of the evaluation of the implementation.

Keywords: Children With Special Needs, Asthma

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.