Online Program

288665
Performance of the school nurse's asthma management behaviors in relationship to their asthma knowledge, asthma attitude and asthma self-efficacy


Monday, November 4, 2013 : 2:50 p.m. - 3:10 p.m.

Judith Quaranta, PhD, RN, CPN, AE-C, FNAP, Decker School of Nursing, Binghamton Univeristy, Binghamton, NY
Gale A. Spencer, PhD, RN, Decker School of Nursing, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY
More than 10 million children in the United States under the age of 18 years have been diagnosed with asthma. In 2011, the highest asthma prevalence rate was for ages 5-17 years. Asthma is the leading chronic childhood illness resulting in missed school days, emergency room visits and hospitalizations. Since children are in school at least 6 hours a day, the school nurse is in the optimal position to intervene and impact asthma outcomes. A descriptive correlational study investigated the performance of the school nurse's asthma management behaviors in relationship to asthma knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy and rating of importance of asthma management behaviors. A randomized sample of nurses from the National Association of School Nurses completed questionnaires via survey monkey. SPSS-18 was used for analysis. Significant results indicated that asthma attitude, self-efficacy and rating of importance of asthma management behaviors were associated with asthma management behavior performance. Years in school nursing and full-time work status were related to self-efficacy. Age, years in nursing and school nursing were related to performance of asthma management behaviors. The higher the rating of importance of an asthma management behavior, the more likely the school nurse was likely to perform the behavior (p<.05). By understanding the relationship between the school nurse's asthma knowledge, asthma attitude, asthma self-efficacy and rating of importance of asthma management behaviors and the actual performance of asthma management behaviors by the school nurse, interventions can be implemented that would increase these behaviors, leading to better outcomes for the student with asthma.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Chronic disease management and prevention
Public health or related nursing
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe the current asthma burden for the school age population Identify factors that influence asthma management for the school nurse Explain the effect of self-efficacy on asthma management behaviors for the school nurse Discuss ways to enhance asthma management of the school nurse

Keyword(s): Asthma, School Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a clinical associate professor at the Decker School of Nursing and a Certified Asthma Educator.I have been an investigator for several asthma studies. My interest includes asthma management to prevent adverse outcomes for children and adolescents. I published an article in 4/12 in the Journal of Asthma and Allergy Educators (Using Nursing Students as Open Airways Facilitators Through a Community Partnership to Influence Asthma Outcomes). I am currently investigating asthma in Head Start.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.