Creating resources for underfunded and overwhelmed schools

Asthma is the most common chronic health condition affecting K-12 students in the U.S. According to the National Health Interview Survey, over 16% of 5–17 year olds have been diagnosed with asthma. The impacts of asthma include missed school days, disruption of sleep and daily activities, lower academic performance, urgent medical visits, and even death. Moreover, asthma-related student absences result in over $30 million in lost revenue to California schools each year. While we know how to control asthma symptoms with appropriate medications and proper management, declining financial resources render schools increasingly unable to provide the health services needed to address the growing number of students with asthma. To address asthma in California schools, the Schools Environmental Health and Asthma Collaborative (SEHAC), consisting of stakeholders from government, health and education sectors, was established to provide practical solutions and ready-to-use resources for schools. Among these are a series of brief narrated PowerPoint presentations, entitled Asthma Quick Takes, which contain downloadable documents and which educate school staff on the California Asthma Medication Self-carry Law, as well as: (1) how to address asthma emergencies, (2) reduce or eliminate indoor asthma triggers, and (3)reduce the impact of outdoor asthma triggers. SEHAC will introduce its Asthma Quick Takes and additional resources, the process by which they are disseminated statewide, and make them available to conference attendees. These presentations have been beta-tested by school personnel and confirm the SEHAC hypothesis that condensed, online resources, tailored to school personnel, meet an important and growing need.