141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

280327
Effectiveness of an academic asthma health education program on cognitive, psychosocial, and behavioral outcomes in older school-age students with asthma

Wednesday, November 6, 2013 : 10:30 AM - 10:42 AM

Eileen Kintner, PhD, RN , School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
C. Nathan Marti, PhD , Division of Statistics and Scientific Computation, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Gwendolyn Cook, PhD, MSN, RN , School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, Westland, MI
Debbie Stoddard , University Outreach and Engagement, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Phyllis Harmon , School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Laurie A. Van Egeren, PhD , University Outreach and Engagement, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Background: A comprehensive, theory-driven, evidence-guided program, Staying Healthy–Asthma Responsible & Prepared (SHARP), was developed in collaboration with school personnel. The developmentally appropriate, school-based health education program for diverse older school-age students with asthma was designed to be integrated into schools that were under pressure to demonstrate academic outcomes. The Acceptance of Asthma Model and a Lifespan Development perspective guided the study. Purpose: Evaluate the effectiveness of the academic SHARP program compared to a non-academic program, Open Airways for Schools (OAS), for cognitive, psychosocial, and behavioral outcomes. Significance: Successful asthma management includes educating students with asthma about the condition. The NIH guidelines recommended expanding education from offices/clinics to school settings. Method: A two group, longitudinal, cluster-randomized, single-blinded design was used. The sample consisted of 204 grade 4–5 students with asthma and their caregivers. Schools were matched based on 5th-grade enrollment numbers, standardized reading and math scores, free/reduced lunch eligibility, and racial/ethnic proportions. The unit of analysis was the student. Recently-retired certified elementary school teachers delivered the programs in schools during instructional time. Evaluators collected baseline, and 1-, 12-, and 24-month post-intervention data from student/caregiver dyads. Caregivers and students each completed 5 instruments. Multilevel modeling was used for analysis. Findings/Results: Students enrolled in academic SHARP demonstrated significant (p < .05) increases in acceptance, beliefs, and behavioral outcomes; and significant (p < .05) improvement in knowledge and reasoning over students enrolled in the non-academic OAS program. Conclusions/Recommendations: English and English-Spanish bilingual versions of SHARP are ready for dissemination across the country.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Chronic disease management and prevention
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related education
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the effectiveness of an academic health education program compared to a non-academic program for older school-age students on increasing cognitive, psychosocial, and behavioral outcomes.

Keywords: Public Health Education, School-Based Programs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the principal of multiple NIH-funded grants focused on increasing understanding of the cognitive, behavioral, and psychosocial issues that impact condition severity, quality of life, and use of healthcare services of older school-age children and adolescents living with chronic and life-threatening conditions. Among my scientific interests have been the development and testing of theory-driven and evidence-guided school- and community-based asthma health education and counseling programs for children and members of their social networks.
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.

Back to: 5139.0: Asthma Management in Schools