Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #104266

Winston Liao, PhD, Clinical Research, Fulcrum Pharma Developments Inc., 2803 Slater Road, Suite 125, Morrisville, NC 27560, 919-226-1440, ext. 115, winston.liao@fulcrumpharma.com, Marcia Griffith, MPH, National Center for Environmental Health, MS E-17, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333, and Rebecca Perritt, MS, Statistics Research Division, RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194.

With support from CDC, RTI International conducted an evaluation of Power Breathing, an asthma intervention for adolescents. The evaluation approach followed a four-stage process (groundwork, formalization, implementation, utilization) within a participatory research framework, including components from CDC's Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health. We employed a quasi-experimental design that utilized matched comparison schools, pre-/post-testing, and mixed-mode data collection. Students were surveyed in school at baseline, post-program, and follow-up. Qualitative data were also collected from school nurses, teachers, and program facilitators to assess the programmatic aspects of the intervention. Intervention students showed greater increase in knowledge (p=.014), more improvement in attitudes about asthma (p=.004), and greater improvement in quality of life (p=.011) from baseline to post-program. Significantly more intervention than control students demonstrated improvement in asthma management behavior, i.e., use of peak flow meter (p=.004) at follow-up. Very positive responses were obtained from the study participants regarding program performance, fidelity, and quality. We will also discuss the role of participatory research principles in school-based research and the implications of the findings on school health practices and policies.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

• Describe the evaluation approach and participatory research framework.
• Identify the major findings from the process, impact and outcome evaluations.
• Discuss the implications of the results as they relate to school health practices and policies.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation